FOUR MONTHS
by carguysteve549
Summary: This story is an alternate version of where se7ep18 leaves off and explores the months long journey in Europe and beyond after Amy has left her home in Alberta to take advantage of a new business opportunity, and Ty is struggling to make the best of his time at home on his own. How will the experience affect their future? I hope you will enjoy! The sequel "The Long Way Around"
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

Ty Borden walked his fiancée, 22 year old horse trainer Amy Fleming, as close as he could get to the turning rotors of the waiting helicopter, holding on to her as long as possible before she left on a four month trip to Europe. "We'll talk, every day." she reassured him, squeezing his arm. All he could do was nod, looking toward the ground in front of them, avoiding the angel-blue eyes that would surely threaten his resolve to let her go.

Amy could see that Ty was doing the best he could to hold himself together. The thought of Ty hurting like this was making it hard for her to leave, but this was the opportunity of a lifetime for a small rancher's granddaughter looking to make her mark on the international equestrian stage. The two young lovers had learned the hard way that the difficult decisions they would face as a couple needed to be made together, as a team. When Prince Ahmed Al Saeed offered the job as Head Trainer to his World Championship contending equestrian jumping team to Amy, she and Ty discussed the pros and cons of the position, deciding it was too good of an offer for her to pass up. If she were successful, it would mean a huge jump in her status as a highly sought after horse trainer and their future together would be set. She was already known as the "Miracle Girl" in her native Western Alberta home for the amazing things she could do with horses, but this was a whole new level at stake for her professional reputation.

"You know I love you." She told him. "I'll be back before you know it." Amy turned to face him as they slowly kissed and said their farewells.

"I love you too." Ty said, still looking down. "We'll be OK…_I'll_ be OK…promise."

The snow swirled past him while he watched the helicopter slowly rise above the horse barn of Heartland Ranch. Ty was twenty feet in front of the rest of the Bartlett-Fleming-Morris family as they all raised a hand to offer an anxious farewell to the passengers. The aircraft disappeared to the northeast over the rim of the valley, headed toward Calgary and the awaiting personal jet of the Prince.

As he turned and walked toward his truck Ty noticed that his feet felt as if his shoes were filled with lead. Each step was heavy and his thoughts were with Amy, who had never been any closer to flying than the back of his old Norton motorcycle. He hoped that she would not be too frightened, or get air sick.

"Hey." Lou Fleming-Morris, Amy's older sister, said as she stepped to his side as he walked by.

"You OK?" she asked.

"As good as I'm goanna be for quite a while now, I guess." He shrugged.

"Ty, you know she loves you more than anything. Everything is going to be all right."

"I hope you are right, Lou. Everything I care about most in my life is up there in that helicopter with a guy that has a whole country's resources at his disposal, and I worry that he has an idea he can show Amy what it would be like to be the real Princess of….whatever the hell they call that place."

"C'mon Ty. Its goanna take more than that to get Amy's attention. Look….. what does she love most in her life? She likes to work with horses, here, with us…..with you! You two make a great team, and she knows that."

"Lou, she's never had the world at her feet before, and you can bet Ahmed will make sure that she sees what it would be like for her to be in that position."

"Well, Ty, if you really feel that way, why on earth did you agree to let her go on that trip?"

"Because, Lou, she has passed up some great opportunities before, maybe because she was thinking about me…about us. What if she wakes up one day, living here in Hudson, and starts thinking about what might have been? I do _not_ want to be the reason that she gave up the chance to take her career as far as she wants to go with it. If I did that to her, it might be as bad as if I were to lose her now."

Lou put her hands on Ty's shoulders and gripped them hard. "You need to stop worrying. It will just drive you crazy to think about all the 'what ifs'. It's going to be OK, I just know it."

Ty opened the door of his truck, slid into the seat, and reached to start the engine. 'If I hurry, I might be able to get to the airport and stop her!' He thought, then rejected. 'These next four months are going to _really suck_.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

The roar of the blades above her was nowhere near as loud as she'd imagined it would be. Amy sat with her face against the window looking toward the place she had called home her entire life. She had ridden her horses, cars, school buses, even Ty's motorcycle over every square foot of these foothills, but things looked so incredibly different from eight thousand feet in the air.

Ahmed saw her taking it all in and was amused by her awestruck reaction to the view.

"How are you handling the flight, Amy? Are you comfortable?" he asked.

"Oh, this is amazing, Ahmed! I never knew what to expect….I mean, I did, but this is so much more….._awesome_!"

"Well, I am so pleased you like it, Amy." He chuckled. "There will be much more of this kind of flying when we get to Europe. You have many new and exciting experiences yet to come! I will make sure that you get to see the finer things that Europe has to offer."

"Thank you again, Ahmed, for this opportunity. I hope I can live up to your expectations of me."

"I am sure that you will, Amy. I can think of no one else that I would rather have on my team. I look forward to spending the next few months together, winning the championship for my country! You are going to be a big part of that."

Amy looked north toward the unique Calgary skyline hovering above the beautiful Bow River which was moving just below them. As they neared the airport the pilot descended toward a designated spot in front of the Prince's hanger. It was located in the private section away from all the hustle and bustle of the crowded main terminal. A glistening black jet was parked nearby and looked to be poised and ready for takeoff.

"I can't believe this is really happening." She said to herself.

Twenty minutes was all it took to go inside the hangar to take a quick bathroom break while the horses were being loaded onto the plane, and to make a phone call to ask Lou a favor.

"Lou, hey, did Ty leave already?"

"Yeah, poor guy stood there and watched until he couldn't see you any longer and moped his way back to the truck. He said he was going to the clinic to work a few hours and relieve Scott for a well deserved night off. You knew Scott covered a couple of Ty's shifts so you two could spend a little more time together before your trip, right?"

"Please thank Scott for me, would you?" Amy asked.

"Sure thing, Sis."

"What I called about...Lou, Ummm….could you make sure to check on Ty from time to time for me? I know this is going to be rough on him, both of us actually, and maybe you guys could pitch in to keep him busy, keep his mind off being so lonely. I guess….well…. I'm a little worried about him."

"Of course we will, Amy. There's always plenty to do around here and I'll make sure that we _need_ his help to keep things running smoothly." she smiled into the phone.

"Grandpa will love the idea. You _know_ he misses bossing Ty around." Both girls laughed at the vision of the two of them working together again.

"You remember what I said about taking care of yourself, too!"

"Yes, Lou, I _remember_. Thanks. Listen, I gotta go…..wheels up, as they say."

"Take care, watch yourself, Amy….I mean it…..I love you."

"Me too…..Bye."

The flight was well into the fifth hour as the sun began to set behind them. Amy could see the darkness ahead and was surprised to see for the first time millions of lights everywhere below in the darkness. They were clustered in patches, an array of pinpricks on a dark canvas, both random and in organized rows where they apparently lined city streets. She thought of the people who lived there, oblivious to her spying on them from above, living their lives and having dinner with their loved ones, and not missing them already.

Amy realized this trip would expand her world a hundred times over, but it was starting to sink in that every mile she traveled to the east was another mile farther from everything she knew and loved in her life up to that point. An invisible chord was pulling at her from behind, trying not to disconnect from the love and support she knew was there.

Lou's words were circling around inside her head. "Be careful, Amy. I've been around long enough to know that when I see the way Ahmed looks at you he is not just thinking about you working with his horses."

Amy discarded the idea as being a ridiculous over reaction, typical for her sister. But to be honest, she wasn't completely sure that Lou was wrong. She needed to watch herself and not let all of this excitement cloud her judgment or mislead Ahmed into thinking he was going to be more than a boss who happened to be a good friend as well.

She wished Ty were here, reaching out to pull her close so she could lay her head against his chest, listening to his strong, steady heartbeat, it's rhythm soothing all her worries away until she drifted off into a peaceful sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

The alarm beeped its way into the room with an annoying pulse, causing Amy to reach for the clock and slap at it until she finally hit the snooze button. She awoke in a strange bed with unfamiliar surroundings in every direction. 'Guess I'm going to have to get used to this.' she thought. It took a couple of seconds for her to get her bearings.

"Oh, yeah. London... _LONDON freaking ENGLAND!_" she said in disbelief. She threw the covers back and nearly skipped her way across the marble floors and into the lavishly detailed bathroom. For some reason, she thought of Grandpa getting up to do his business in a bathroom as luxurious as this and it made her laugh out loud.

"Oh, Grandpa, if you could see me now! We ain't in the ol' outhouse anymore!"

Her grandpa, Jack Bartlett, had the old cowboy way of looking at life. After Lou and Peter had prolonged their stay at Heartland because of Peter's bad business venture in Dubai, things became a little too crowded for Jack's liking. He found a spot close to the tree line at the edge of the yard, behind the main house, and built himself an outhouse, a nice one as outhouses go. His reasoning was that "A man just needs a place to be by himself once in a while." This bathroom was at the other end of the 'outhouse' scale, assuming Grandpa's outhouse as a 3 on a 1-10 bathroom scale, this must be an 11.

After she showered, fixed her hair, and dressed, Amy found her phone and took a couple of selfies in front of gold plated towel racks and the marble shower/steam room fit for royalty, fanning her hands in presentation of the object to be marveled by pretending to be one of those girls from "The Price is Right."

Leaning forward over the antique fashioned sink she twisted the gold plated faucet to wet her toothbrush. She glanced toward the clock on the wall beside her…. "6:30am London time…. that would be, ummm 11:30pm Hudson time. Maybe Ty is still up." She hoped.

"Hey, Ty, it's _me_." She giggled into the phone when he answered.

"Amy! I was ready to give up on you calling me today."

"Sorry about it being so late, but I'm just now getting up here in London…_ENGLAND!_ This is so confusing, trying to synchronize a time to call so that it works for both of us."

"You can call me almost any time. I can always answer, except for when I am in class. Well, it sounds like you are enjoying yourself."

"I am, it's such a fantastic place. Speaking of class, how's that going?"

Ty confessed to her two weeks ago that he had failed a couple of his mid-terms, the result of spreading himself too thin by working extra shifts at Scott's vet clinic and taking in some odd jobs for extra money. The idea was to be able to match Amy's down payment for a farm they had found and not let her do the whole thing by herself. The down payment was a part of what had caused some tension between them, and a little bit of a sore spot for them both.

"I talked with both of my professors and they are willing to let me make up the tests during break, so I got lucky, I guess."

"That's great! Now you will have time to concentrate on your school work. It should be easier this way."

"I guess so." He replied, hating to admit the setback.

"How are things back home?" she asked.

"Everything and everybody is fine, just colder here, without you." He whined. "S-Soo, how are things going with the team?"

The team, or Amy_ leaving_ with the team, was another sore spot with Ty, though he would never admit that to Amy, or anyone else except for Lou and his friend, Caleb, as if it wasn't obvious to anyone who knew him.

"We're going to the stables to check on the horses this morning for the first time since we arrived. We should be able to do a little practicing in the afternoon for the show this weekend. I'm going to try to talk to Soraya to see if we can meet sometime while I am here in town. I've missed her, so much, Ty."

"Yeah, me too. Remember to say 'hey' for all of us here at home."

"I will…. I miss you too, you know." Her mood changed and Ty could tell she was about to get choked up.

"Don't you start that, or I'm coming over there right now! You know I could never stand to see….or hear you like that."

"I'm OK, Ty." She pouted. "I just really could use one of your hugs this morning, to let me know that everything is going to work out."

"It will work out, Amy. They don't call you the "Miracle Girl" for nothing. We all know that you are, here at home, and those people over there are going to find out for themselves soon enough."

"Thanks, I needed to hear that. Oh! I took a couple of pictures of me in this bathroom that I'll send you." she gushed. "Ty, you won't believe how fancy this place is!"

"Are you wearing any clothes?" he teased.

"Don't you start that, Ty Borden, or I'm going to have to come back over there, _right now_!"

"Ty, I-I'd better go. I'm supposed to be at breakfast in ten minutes….Did I mention that I love you?"

"No, I don't think you did!"

"Very funny! Gotta go! Bye!"

The restaurant was busy with patrons from the hotel. Everyone was dressed in business suits and had their noses buried into the stock market reports of the London Times. Ahmed and two of the other riders from the team were sitting next to a window overlooking the River Thames.

"What a beautiful view!" she said as Ahmed got up to help her getting seated.

"You really don't have to do that!" she informed him.

"Oh, but yes, I do, Amy! You see, a man of my position has a responsibility to demonstrate impeccable manners." he smiled.

"I would not want to disappoint my countrymen by showing disrespect to such a lovely lady sitting at my table!"

"No, really, Ahmed, it is not something I am used to, or expect. I can sit down all by myself, just fine." She said matter of factly.

"Ahhh, but you will soon learn that a gentleman treats a lady with much more appreciation than…well….a _cowboy!"_

Not sure how far she should push her independence so soon, Amy decided to let it go.

"OK….what's on the agenda for today?" she redirected.

"We must first go to the stables and register for the competition. We will then attend to the horses and make sure that everything is in order. I anticipate for us to get into the arena shortly after lunch, for our first practice."

"Great! I was just wondering, I have an old childhood friend who was my best friend growing up with me in Hudson. She lives here in London. Would it be possible for me to meet with her this afternoon, after we are finished at the stables?"

"Of course it is! We should be back to the hotel by 6 pm."

"Thank you, Ahmed. I have really missed her since she moved away. It's been two years….we have a lot of catching up to do."

"I have a better idea, Amy. Why not call your friend to see when she is available? I will send a driver to pick her up and she can dine with us at a restaurant that I would like to show you."

"Oh, that would be great! I'll call her later to set it up." Amy planned excitedly.

The morning chores passed without a hitch. Amy decided she could get used to the idea of having someone muck out the stalls and to do all of the mundane day to day duties in the stable for her. All of the horses were surprisingly calm and it took no time to tack them up for the afternoon practice session. Before she went out into the arena Amy found her phone and dialed Soraya's number. Her old friend was genuinely thrilled to hear from her and agreed to be ready at 7:00pm for the Prince's limo to pick her up. She gave Amy the address and everything was all set.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

"We have made so much progress with Zeus! Your hard work is paying off, Amy." The Prince said to her as he handed over the reigns.

"Yeah, he has started to respond to your commands better, Ahmed." You are working as a real team now." Replied his determined horse trainer.

Prince Ahmed had gotten the attention of most of the other team owners and competitors since they arrived at the stables. Most of them had never heard of Amy Fleming, but she seemed more than capable of handling the high strung stallions and was much easier on the eyes than Adrian Gilson, the Prince's former head trainer. They also noticed that she had worked wonders with the team owner, a pampered, high strung and moody brat of a young Prince who had changed his own attitude a great deal in her presence.

One of the other trainers, Owen Hollingsworth, of the British National team, came over to Amy as she was cooling off Zeus by walking him around the paddock until he was ready to be brushed, put into his stall, fed, and watered for the night.

"Owen, Owen Hollingsworth." He introduced himself.

"Amy Fleming." She responded by offering her hand to shake.

"I see that you have done a spectacular job in taming both of them down a bit." He chuckled.

"Uhhh, both?" She asked.

"Yes, indeed, both Zeus _and_ the Prince!" he replied through a large British grin.

"Well, I don't know about that." She shrugged, not sure where the comment was coming from.

"You see, Amy, it is no secret that Prince Ahmed was having trouble handling his father's horse. He was quite over his head there for a while. You, on the other hand, have seemingly found a cure for their, let's call it an imbalance."

"We have done a lot of work getting Ahmed and Zeus to get to know each other. That's all they were lacking. They are a lot better now as a team than they were in the beginning. I think they will see better results in competition, at least I hope so."

"It looks like you have everything in hand, Amy. Pleased to make your acquaintance. Good luck!"

After calling the driver of the limousine, Amy arranged to ride along on the way to pick up Soraya at her apartment. Ten minutes into the ride the driver pulled next to a curb in a nice looking neighborhood and started to open the door to get out.

"Wait! Do you mind if I go to the door?" The excited conspirator asked.

"Fine, Miss. As you wish. There will be a speaker to the left of the door. Once you push the button, she should answer momentarily." The driver explained.

Amy pushed the button and waited for the response.

"Yes?" Soraya answered.

"Hey, Stranger! Get your British living butt down here, we have some catching up to do!"

"Amy!" she shrieked. "Hold on, I'll be there in a second!"

The two old friends embraced and bounced around a half circle, then parted enough to look each other over for the first time in over two years.

"Well, well, this high fallootin' horse trainer job seems to be agreeing with you, or is it because you finally roped poor ol' Ty into getting engaged?"

"Ha! Thanks a lot! He seems pretty happy about being spoken for, if I say so myself!" Amy laughed.

"Took you two long enough!"

"Yeah, _didn't_ it though?" Amy smiled as she shrugged her shoulders. "Com'on let's go. Wait 'till you see this!"

They walked to the limo with the driver opening the door as they approached. He greeted Soraya with a tip of his hat and said "Good evening, Miss."

The chatter was reminiscent of their sleepovers in grade school, constantly giggling and swapping gossip.

"Oh! Let me see that ring!" Soraya demanded.

Amy presented her left hand with her eyes as wide as her smile.

"Wow, Amy! It's beautiful. Did Ty pick it out by himself?"

"Yes, he did. But that is another long story. It took a while for him to finally ask me. I knew about the ring months before he popped the question, but it was worth the wait! It was SO perfect, Soraya, up there in the mountains beside the river, campfire glowing, and I told you about the shooting star, right?"

"When you said 'Make a wish?"

"Yeah, he looked at me with those big green eyes and just blurted out, 'I wish I could be with you for the rest of my life.' It totally caught me off guard, hard to do when I knew it was coming….eventually!" They both squealed and hugged again.

Amy was curious about Soraya's love life as well and began asking the typical questions.

"So….are you planning on getting married soon?"

"Yeah, Dillon and I have talked about it, and as soon as we finish school, I think we will get married after that."

"You don't sound so sure?" the concerned friend asked. "Is everything OK?"

"I-It's OK, but sometimes I get the feeling that his parents must be putting pressure on him, like maybe he is marrying under his social ranking, or something like that."

"Well, how do _you_ feel? The two of you are the ones who will have to live together. What do _you_ want?"

"I love him, Amy. He is a sweet guy and I hope you get to meet him while you're here."

"I hope so too. Then we'll see if he passes _MY_ approval!" she teased by sticking an elbow at her friends ribs.

Amy reached out to hug her friend. She remembered how much she had missed having a _girl_ pal to talk to. There hadn't been anyone who could take her place as confidant and advisor, except for Ty, who she thought was perfect for the job, other than he was still a guy and that was just not the same thing.

They arrived at the restaurant and met the Prince at his table. Amy was a little surprised to see him there by himself. She had assumed that Ahmed was taking the entire team out for a nice dinner.

"Ahmed, this is Soraya, the friend I was telling you about."

Pleased to meet you, Soraya. I hope you have had a chance to 'catch up' as Amy said.

"We have only just begun!" explained the smiling friend.

The evening flowed nicely through an unbelievable seven course meal. The conversation consisted of filling in details of the Prince's Royal team and how he got to know and respect Amy, especially after the accident at Hillhurst Stables that injured her so seriously.

"We always knew Amy had a special gift with horses, and that she has a hard head!" Soraya laughed. "You know, I have never been on a first name basis with a Prince before."

"Well, my _new_ friend, any friend of Amy's is a friend of mine."

The fine meal was finally finished, leaving none of them wanting anything else to eat. It was well after 11:00pm as the limo left the restaurant on its way to take Soraya back to her apartment.

"Amy, can I ask you something without you getting mad at me?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"W-what…. is the deal with this Prince? What does Ty think of you coming to Europe for all these months with him?" Is there something you haven't told me about all of this?"

"What are you talking about?" she said defensively. "Ty knows Ahmed and trusts him to take care of me while I'm here. We talked about it and made the decision for me to take this job _together_. _And_, there is nothing going on between me and Ahmed, if that's what you are asking." shocked at her oldest friend's implication.

"OK, Amy. I just have a gut feeling that Ahmed feels differently than you think he does, you know? You didn't know that none of the rest of your team was going to be there tonight, did you? That he would be alone? And if Ty is OK with all of this, he has definitely changed from the last time I saw him!"

"It's not like that!" Amy was now a little bit hurt to think that her oldest friend in the world would even think of such a thing. "You, as well as anybody, should know how I feel about Ty. We've been through so much already, and come through it all stronger than ever."

"I know, Amy, but…maybe it's nothing, but just…be careful, OK?"

"Don't worry. Everything is _fine_. You and Lou are not going to let me forget that!"

They shared one last embrace of the evening before Soraya disappeared behind her door. They were planning on another meeting, to be determined as the week's schedule became clearer.

During the drive back to her hotel, Amy thought about what her sister and oldest friend had brought up regarding the Prince's intentions. Did they honestly think that the main reason Ahmed offered her this job was to take her away from her familiar surroundings of home and show her what life could be like with a Prince? Lou and Soraya seemed to have the same idea. 'I wonder if Ty feels the same way, and just won't tell me? If he _does_ think that Ahmed would do that, why did he agree to let me take this job without putting up a fight?'


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Caleb O'Dell is one of Ty's few good friends and sometimes business partner. The two of them had done everything from investing in livestock together to hustling pool at the local watering hole, or trying to both date Amy at the same time, several years earlier. He and Ty competed for her heart to the point of exchanging blows on more than one occasion.

Their risky investment in an ill-mannered barrel racing horse was the source of the most recent fight between the newlyweds to be. Ty had used his entire savings of $5000.00 to match funds with Caleb in buying the horse without first talking to Amy.

The beautiful Chestnut Stallion belonged to one of the best trainers in Northwestern barrel racing circles and would have been out of their reach except for the fact that the animal kept blowing by the first barrel on the course. Ty was on call with Scott, his boss at the vet clinic, to look at Charger and in their opinion the horse looked fine, but the owner had given up on him and put the horse up for sale.

All it took was for Ty to describe the horse to Caleb, who then wouldn't let his friend rest until he caved in to join him in the investment. There was also the unspoken issue Ty had with Amy spending so much time at Hillhurst Stables working with Zeus and his owner. Ty had been in the barn working with one of Amy's client's horses when the Prince came down the driveway with Amy beside him in a bright yellow Lamborghini. They were obviously laughing and having a chummy conversation. He would never admit it, but that was like a dagger in his heart. He knew he would never be able to give her anything like that car, or any of the half million dollar horses she had been riding, or two hundred foot long heated riding stables, or any of the things she seemed to be getting used to lately. Hell, the Prince had a whole damn country to offer her!

Ty finally decided that enough was enough and took a big chance in an effort to show Amy that he had much more potential than she might have thought.

After the two cowboys had made the deal for Charger they tried to hire a pro barrel racer to ride him and soon discovered they were in big trouble. The venture was headed for certain disaster until Amy jumped in at the eleventh hour using her skills with difficult horses to save their butts. The horse, with Amy riding, won big at the Hudson Futurity Barrel Racing event in their home town. It was worth $100,000 for the win, and Charger, the risky investment, was now worth upwards of $200,000 to the right buyer, of which they had some inquiries already. "Not bad for a $10,000 horse!" Caleb kept reminding everybody who had figured them for a couple of greenhorn suckers doomed for a huge failure. Among the first of them was the former five time all around rodeo champion and Amy's father, Tim Fleming.

Tim never seemed to miss a chance to take a verbal jab at his future son in law and he made no attempt to hide the comments to Amy about staying out of the 'Charger' deal.

"Amy, don't waste your time with these two losers working with that lost cause of a horse. The Prince is going to lose patience with you spending any more time with them and those big checks are going to stop coming in….then what?"

Fortunately for the boys, Amy told him to 'butt out' and successfully fixed Charger's bad habit.

Caleb and Ty were riding side by side just behind Jack who had called upon both of them to help ride the fence line and do some repairs before more bad weather moved in. Of course, Lou had a hand in this chore, but Jack enjoyed having Ty along for company. Caleb, on the other hand, was driving the older cowboy crazy with his endless chatter about Charger this, and Charger that, and how he and Ty showed all of 'Them know it all professional barrel racers' how to pick the best horse and train it to be a winner.

Neither of the young men had ever had so much money in their accounts. They were relishing the moment of success.

"I've got a line on a couple of good horses, Ty. I think we ought to go look at 'em pretty quick, so they don't get away."

"Yeah, Caleb, I, uhh, I don't think I'm going to be in the horse buying business until Amy gets back. We would have lost our asses on Charger if Amy hadn't pitched in to save us. If I ever invest in _anything_ like that again, it's going to be with her involved in the decision from the beginning."

"I can see that at least one of you learned a lesson with that horse!" Jack finally spoke up. "You boys need to take a breath and let this all soak into those thick sculls of yours just how lucky you were before you go out on a thin limb with another deal like that."

"But Jack, that's the easiest money I ever made!" Caleb defended.

"And it could have easily been the fastest money you ever lost!"

"Maybe." Caleb slouched and redirected his attention to Ty. "Why do you think Amy took it so hard when she found out about Charger, that you bought him like you did would make her so mad?"

"Well, I think it had more to do with the fact that it took so long to tell her. We were already in the deal up to our armpits before she found out. It really pissed her off to think that I would take a chance like that, considering how hard I worked to get that money for the down payment on the farm in the first place."

"Yeah, man, I get that part," Caleb admitted, "but leaving for _four months_ with that Prince guy like she did, I can't believe she took the job!"

"I guess she just had to get away from me for a while." Ty shrugged. "Maybe she needs to figure out if she can ever trust me to be responsible with our finances after we're married. I have told her about my Dad, how he always gambled away our money and left my Mom and me in a bad situation all of the time." Ty explained. "Maybe she thinks I have finally shown my true colors by being like him, like my Dad."

"What? She did _she _say that? No! I don't think so!" Jack thundered. "Ty, you two have been through more since you have known each other than half the old married people I know. She knows you better than that, and I don't believe for a second that she thinks of you that way at all! Amy has told me how much it meant to her to have you take control and make sure she got the care and love she needed after the accident at Hillhurst. She realizes how hard it must have been for you to stand by her wishes and go against the rest of us and what we thought needed to be done for her treatment. You proved that you knew what she really needed in spite of the rest of us. It showed us all that you were capable of taking care of her. That says a lot, you know, and she has _not_ forgotten about that!" Jack reprimanded his future grandson in law. It would help if you had a little more faith in yourself. Don't you think you have proven to everyone that you are your own man by now?"

"I would have thought so, Jack. But….why would she leave like this if she believed in me? We talked about her being gone on this job for _four months_ and I got the feeling that she really wanted to just get away from me for a while, even more than working with Zeus and the other horses." Ty confessed.

"Well, maybe a bit of a break is just what you need right now." Jack reasoned. "We have all had a hell of a tough year. This was a chance for her to see a big part of the world, and to cool off, and don't forget about the money that job is worth. That'll make things a lot easier for you both…. give you a nice head start. Just let her know how you feel….honestly, and everything will work out just like it always has."

"I sure hope so, Jack, but I have a bad feeling about this, and I don't like being helpless. I have worked my guts out to try and make things better for us, but until we worked together and won that race, nothing I did was ever enough." Ty complained. "I wasn't ever going to get ahead like it was."

Jack saw a chance to make a point to the young man. "If you think about it Ty, you may have just answered your own question."

"What are you talking about?"

"Working _together_! You two always manage to get through whatever problem you are dealing with….when you finally decide to work together, like on that horse. Separately….not so much. You needed the help, Amy needed to prove she could do it, and look what you two accomplished!"

"I see what you are saying, Jack….but it would be a lot easier to become the new Princess in 'wonderland' instead of working _together _with a poor slob like me."

"Three!" Caleb chimed in.

"Huh?" Ty and Jack twisted their heads to him, missing the meaning of the comment.

"Three! You mean, what the _Three_ of us accomplished!"

"Well, Mr. Three….why don't you ride on ahead to the far corner of that field, over there," pointing one half mile to the west, "and check for loose wire." Jack needed a break from the noisy third wheel in the newest barrel racing dynasty, chuckling to himself as he watched Caleb grumble his way over the crest of the hill.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

Cameras were flashing from every direction at the podium in front of the large crowd. Photographers and press from all over the world were trying to get the perfect shot of the under rated team of Prince Ahmed who had just taken first place in the European Show Jumping World Championship event in London, England. The Prince had a wreath of flowers around his neck and a massive beautiful trophy was over his head in his right hand. The other was around the shoulders of his new Head Trainer at his left. Amy was bursting with excitement over their success. The swarm of humanity was almost frightening to her as the mass of people moved closer to them.

Amy had experienced success at events which were important to her back in Alberta, but this was a different feeling altogether. Her team had just taken on the best the world had to offer in professional show jumping and beaten them!

After about forty five minutes of interviews and congratulations, she decided that it was time to get out of the bustling arena and find Soraya and Dillon who were patiently waiting for her at the edge of the grandstand. Her old friend ran to her with a hug, jumping up and down, screaming, and crying all at the same time.

"Amy, I don't even know what to say! I can't believe I got to see you be a part of something….so _amazing_!

"It hasn't hit me yet either!" replied the new winner.

"Let's get out of here, if you don't mind. These crowds are exciting, for a while, but I think I need to get away from all of these people."

"Sure, why don't we go back to my place, Dillon suggested, and then you can relax and start that catching up thing again."

"Sounds like a plan!" Amy replied.

The threesome was sitting in overstuffed chairs in Dillon's beautiful living room with a great view of the London skyline. Amy's head was still spinning with images she saw that afternoon, trying to make sure she registered each thrilling moment into the memory bank in her brain.

"Boy, are the folks back at the ol' ranch goanna be proud of you, huh?" Soraya teased.

"Oh, sh….shoot! What time is it? I forgot to call home yesterday! _Somebody_ will want to _kill_ me over that!"

"Its 8:30pm here…..that's….only 1:30pm in Alberta. Dillon offered.

"Please excuse me, I really need to make a couple of calls, before I forget again." Amy rushed herself to a spare bedroom.

"Ty, it's me. I'm so sorry I forgot to call yesterday! But, I have some great news!" She hoped the exciting news would deflect any anger he might have. "We won our first major show today, and on the first time out together! Soraya and Dillon were there to see it. It was so….amazing, Ty!"

"I'll bet you are the hero now, aren't you? Are they calling you the 'Miracle Girl' yet?" he teased, trying not to reveal how aggravated he was at her for not calling.

"It was a really big deal! There was a _huge_ crowd. Magazines and newspapers from all over the world were there covering the event, and they wanted to talk to _ME!"_

"That's great, Amy! I am so proud of you! I told you that you could do it, didn't I? Have you told your Grandpa and Lou yet?"

"No, we just got back to Dillon's apartment, which is fantastic, by the way, and as soon as I got settled and had a chance to relax, I realized that I hadn't called you, and I'm really sorry, Ty." She pleaded.

"Look, Amy, you have a lot going on, I get that. You don't have to be so worried about checking in with me every minute like it would end the world, or something."

"But….I don't want you to worry, I really don't. I want you to know that I miss you like crazy, and I _Soooo_ wish you could have been here to share the excitement with me today. It was just so unbelievable! But…. I'm used to you being with me and us winning _together_."

"I told you, Amy, that all those people over there were going to know who you are, and soon. But, even _I_ didn't think it would be _this_ soon, I'll have to admit to that!"

"I don't know where this is all going to lead to, but if things keep moving along like they are now, we should be a long way toward being able to buy our farm when I get back home, and maybe we can even start on your clinic. I'm excited about that!" Amy gushed.

"Yeah, totally!" Ty responded with reservation.

"Any news?" she asked, wondering about his reply.

"No, nothing new. Jack asked me to come over and help him run the fences, you know, do some repair work. Caleb came along with us. I gotta tell you, watching Jack deal with Caleb when he is wound up like he has been since we won that race, now that's some pretty good entertainment!"

"Yeah, I can see it perfectly, in my head." She laughed and smiled to herself thinking of Lou and how she was living up to her promise to keep Ty busy.

"Are you OK? You seem to be a little…. down." Amy asked.

"Just tired from all that ranching I did this week with your Grandpa, I guess. You know how it is, Jack's going to get the most out of you that he can while he has you doing work for him."

"Yeah, I do! Ty, you know that I love you, right?"

"Well, I _think_ I know that you _might_ love me, _sometimes._" he pouted, making fun of her.

"You'd better cut that out, right now!" She smiled. "I'm being serious!"

"Yeah, I know you do. I don't know why, but you do."

"Geez, you haven't been hanging around Dad, have you? That sounds like the way _he_ would describe it." She joked.

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't look for me and Tim to be doing any serious bonding any time soon. He's been kind of quiet lately, but as soon as he spits the feathers out of his mouth for eating so much crow over the things he said about Charger and _me_, he'll be right back at it again."

"Ha! Yeah, I can imagine him trying to act like he never said anything but praise for that horse, that he knew he was a winner the first time he saw him, to anyone who will listen."

Amy was aware of the tension that had been building in Ty because of the relentless badgering coming from her dad.

"I gotta say, my victories have been few and far between lately, but I am going to enjoy this one as long as it lasts."

"I can't blame you for that! Did you get any more offers on Charger?"

"I got two more today, in fact. I think we are going to get around $210,000 to $215,000 out of him. Thanks, Amy, for making that possible."

"I'm just happy it all worked out."

"So, where are you headed off to next?"

"Uhhmm…, Belgium, I think. We leave Tuesday morning. I'll call you when I get there.

Well, I have a couple more calls to make, and I want to get to know Dillon better. Soraya is waiting for _MY_ approval of him before she admits she has made a good choice in men." She joked. "He seems really great and I think she is happy here.

"Love you." She finished.

"Love you too. Bye."


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

Amy parted the curtains in a traditional European country hotel room, taking in the wonderful view of the surrounding countryside near Bordeaux, France. Her planned time in Europe was just past half way now with more than two months of life on the road under her belt. Travelling was becoming the new normal. It seemed like forever since she had spent a regular day back in her home of Alberta and the Heartland Ranch taking care of Spartan, Harley, Copper, Phoenix, and all of her client's horses. She hadn't seen a little pony like Katie's horse, Pogie since she left the ranch and missed seeing them all terribly.

A feeling had been nagging her lately, something she had been thinking about and couldn't quite identify for the longest time.

This morning the realization that she was alone and so far away from home was weighing her spirits down. Odd, considering that Prince Ahmed's team was leading in overall points for the European Show Jumping Championship. The team had scored two victories and everyone was talking about them, and about her, in such an uplifting way. Her career as a trainer was taking off just like she dreamed it might, maybe even better. However, the swirling crowds and lavish lifestyle were not brand new to her anymore, and the value of being the center of attention from everyone was not as important to her as it once was. She never realized before what was now becoming clearer. Even after all of the success she was experiencing, doing it without the people she loved being there to share it with her was leaving her with a feeling of emptiness.

Ahmed had called for a working breakfast this morning and all of the team was in attendance. The meeting lasted two hours, much longer than expected. He was going over the remaining schedule for the season with a possibility of two more shows added toward the end of the tour.

Amy had to speak up. "Your Highness," this was protocol when addressing Ahmed in public, "I would have to point out the extra strain on the horses, not to mention the team. I am concerned that it could be harmful to the results at the finish of the season and the championship weekend on April 17th. It might overwork the horses."

Ahmed was openly flustered by the opposition, not a normal thing for him to have to process. Above all of that, it was not normal in the Prince's culture to be publicly challenged by a man, and especially not by a woman. He retorted. "The horses are perfectly capable of performing at two extra events! I shall decide within the next two days if we will make the trip to Abu Dhabi. If I make a decision to do this, we must be prepared to rearrange the schedule accordingly."

Embarrassed by the outburst, Amy backed off and figured it might be better to approach Ahmed in private, although now that he had stood up to her in front of the team it was doubtful that he would change his mind.

'Nine thirty AM….one thirty in Alberta. Damn, I missed him, _again_. Too late to call now.' She dialed Ty's number anyway to see if he might pick up, but the call went to voicemail.

With all of the work to be done with the horses and the recent attention toward her from many of the major equestrian newspapers and magazines, Amy was finding it extremely difficult to keep track of time in two places. Alberta time was usually six to eight hours behind where she might be at any given moment and lately she had allowed as many as four days to pass in between calls back home.

Amy could hear the strain in Ty's voice and he was not as open to talking about much of anything these days, such as the farm that they had been hoping to offer a down payment toward. Sometimes it infuriated her to get a lackluster response from him, but after a couple of hours to think about it, she could understand how he must be feeling. She imagined he was beyond simply missing her and maybe even starting to resent her for wanting to do this so quickly after their big argument over Ty's risk with Charger. He wouldn't tell her so, but he probably thought she made the decision more to punish him than to go on the adventure of travelling all over Europe.

"What can I do about it now? She asked the pigeons on the window sill. "I have to see this through, and so does he."

The drama of this morning left Amy restless and needing to vent to someone, but who could she talk to? 'Lou!' she thought. I'll leave her a message to call me as soon as she can.

"Hello? Amy?" Lou answered sleepily.

"Lou? What are you doing up at this hour?"

"Katie has been sick all night, so I've been sitting up with her. Why are you calling so late? Are you OK?" Lou worried.

"Yeah….I-I don't know, Lou. I…_We_ have been doing really well with the shows. We are placing high, leading in the European Points Championship, and even won two of them. I'm just a little stressed, I guess. I needed someone to talk to….there's nobody here for that."

"Yeah, I know. You are doing so _well_, and we are s_oooo_ proud of you! We have been keeping up with you over the internet. What's on your mind, sis?" asked the older sister.

"Have you seen Ty lately? He really seems to be pulling away from me, like he is upset….or I should say more upset than usual. The last time I mentioned the farm we have been looking at, he didn't even to want to talk to me about it. In fact, he just totally dropped it like I never even mentioned it."

"I haven't seen him in at least a couple of weeks, I guess. He didn't tell you, did he, about the farm?"

"What are you talking about, Lou?"

"I was in the office at Maggie's the other day, it's been almost three weeks, I guess, and Sonya Martin, the real estate lady Peter and I used when we were still looking for a house, she came in the office and asked about you and Ty. She wanted to know if you had found a property yet. I asked her why she was interested and she told me that she had given Ty the paperwork about two months ago to fill out to put a bid on that farm you guys were wanting so much. Ty had set up a meeting with her to go ahead and make a bid. The very next morning he called her back and cancelled. He said that something had come up and he wouldn't be able to make a decision just yet."

Ty's fiancée was confused, "What does that mean? I never heard a thing about any of this!"

"Well, it doesn't matter now. The farm sold about a week later. She asked me if you two would be interested in another acreage that she knew was coming up for sale."

"The farm _sold_?" Amy's mind froze on that fact.

"Yes, it did."

"Oh, Lou, that must be what is wrong with Ty. I had forgotten about this, but the night I went to the trailer and told him about Ahmed's job offer he said he had something to show me. He was really excited about it, but….I went first, and with all of the talk about the job and what it would mean for me….for us, we must have forgotten to bring it up again. His news was about the offer for the farm, I just _know_ it!"

"Amy! He must have been devastated when he heard that the farm was sold….Like his dream was…._gone_."

"_Our_ dream, Lou. We both wanted for that to be our home, a place to start our business and to raise our kids. Lou, we would drive over there and just walk around for hours and imagine how we were going to clean the place up….where our horses would be kept….where our kids would play, how we wanted to fix up the house." Stunned at the realization of what had happened, Amy broke down and began to sob into her hand which was trembling over her mouth.

"This is not good, Lou!" as her mind raced, wondering what she should do, _must_ do, to try and fix the misunderstanding. How could she have not known? Ty would surely hate her now!

"Please, calm down, Amy. I am so sorry. Let me go and talk to him. I can calm him down and explain how this all happened."

"It has already been four days since I last talked to him, Lou. This is _bad_….I need to fix this!"

"Just let me talk to him, Amy. You need to let me do that before you speak to each other, or else things might get unnecessarily out of hand. I'll do it first thing in the morning, OK?"

"You call me as soon as you do, I don't care what time it is over here, _Please!"_ She pleaded.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

A yellow-orange sun was rising above the rim of the valley, backlighting the entrance gate to Heartland Ranch. Lou was in Grandpa Jack's old Chevy truck headed for Ty's trailer. The coffee she had in her right hand was hot and the smell was about all that was keeping her alert. It was only about ten minutes to the driveway into the trailer as she turned in to park in front of the porch. Ty's truck was not there, only a little blue sedan that she didn't know. When she shut the engine off and stepped outside she could see the light in the bedroom come on and someone moving about. After a couple of taps on the door it pushed open toward Lou and she stepped back in astonishment.

A thin, olive skinned, curly-haired beauty stood there wearing only a shirt that Lou was certain she had bought for Ty at Christmas.

"Can I help you?" asked the girl."

Lou's eyes were wide open now, and her mouth was open, making movements much like a fish looking through the side of its bowl.

"Uhh, I…I was looking for Ty!" She blurted out.

"Yeah, I bet you were." Raising her eyebrows, smiling in accusation.

'A bit of a wise-ass,' Lou was thinking.

"N-Nooo….NOOO! I am his sister in law…..almost. I haven't heard from him in a while and I wanted to make sure he was alright."

"Ahhh, 'Wonder Woman's' sister! Well, he doesn't live here anymore." The girl said outright.

'No, _all_ wise-ass!' Lou readjusted her impression of the girl.

"That's 'Miracle Girl'. Lou corrected. "Wha-What do you mean he doesn't live here?"

"To hear him talk about her, it's more like 'Wonder Woman.' Anyways, Ty and I traded places a couple of weeks ago. I had a place near the campus at UC and this place is closer to the vet clinic where I work. The house is within walking distance of the classes he is taking. He gains two hours a day and saves burning all of that gas just by not having to drive all the way out here. He said there wasn't any reason for him to be here anymore, like the silence was driving him crazy since his girlfriend left him."

"You work at the vet clinic? Scott Cardinal's vet clinic? With _Scott_….and _Ty_?" Lou stumbled, her mind spinning, trying to gain traction.

"That's the one. I'm Cassandra."

"And…Amy did not leave him! She is on business in Europe." Countered Lou.

"Yeah, whatever, she's gone just the same."

"Well then, where the hell is Ty?" Lou asked, gaining speed.

Cassandra gave Lou the address and turned to go back into the trailer. Lou stumbled off the porch as she looked at the paper to see if she could remember where the address was located. Just as she was back on the road toward home, her phone chimed.

"Lou, you said you would call!" Amy anxiously reminded her older sister. "Have you talked to Ty yet?"

"Well….no, not exactly."

"Not exactly? What does that mean, _not exactly_?"

"It means that I just left Ty's trailer and he isn't there anymore."

"What? What are you saying, Lou?" Amy asked, confused.

"I'm saying that I knocked on the door and a girl named Cassandra answered, wearing one of the shirts I got for Ty at Christmas, and nothing else, as far as I could tell."

All of the blood ran out of Amy's head and if she ever thought there was a time she might faint, this was it.

A few seconds passed with neither of the sisters knowing were the conversation was going from here.

"Amy, that girl said that she traded places with him, that he has moved to Calgary near the school. I have his address. I will get Katie and Georgie some breakfast and get Grandpa to watch them while I go into town and find out what the hell is going on."

Amy was silent, so Lou wasn't sure if she had passed out or was so angry she couldn't speak.

"Amy, you still there?" she asked.

"Y—yeah. Cassandra, Huh?" was all she could say.

"Don't worry. It kind of makes sense, if you think about it. She mentioned that Ty saves two hours every day just not having to drive back and forth to the trailer and that he was going crazy out there all by himself." Lou was trying to diffuse an unbelievably awkward interaction with her sister.

"He hasn't picked up my calls for a few days now. Maybe it's too late." Amy wondered.

"Don't say that! Don't say _anything_ until I find out what's going on, OK?"

"I…uhh….gotta go, Lou. Ahmed is waiting at the door."

"OK, Amy, just stay calm until I get this straightened out."

On the way to the stables where the team's horses were being kept, Ahmed could tell that Amy's mind was a million miles away.

"Amy, what is the matter?"

"Oh, nothing, I've just lost my fiancée, is all."

"Lost….what does that mean?" Ahmed perked up.

"It means that I haven't talked to Ty in days and I just found out that he moved closer to the campus in Calgary. I haven't been able to get in touch with him." Amy sighed.

He reached for her hand to reassure his trainer, "I am sure that he is only getting himself settled into his new living arrangement."

The limousine pulled in front of the stables and the driver opened the door for the duo to exit. As they walked to the door, Ahmed put his hand behind Amy's shoulder to comfort her.

"Getting to work will take your mind off of your trouble. Let's see what kind of mood Zeus is in today."

Lou slowly crawled along a narrow street and squinted at the house numbers, looking from side to side until she finally saw Ty's old blue truck parked in front of a little bungalow with the number beside the door that Cassandra had written on the paper.

"I am looking for Ty Borden," she told a young coed who answered the door.

"He lives upstairs, around to the side." She directed Lou to a sidewalk to her right.

"OK, thanks."

"Ty!" Lou called out as she knocked on the door.

"Hey, Lou!" What are you doing all the way up here?"

"I've been chasing all over Alberta looking for you today, that's what!" Lou scolded.

"Woah, Lou, take it easy! Just comnon' in and sit down."

"What made you decide to do this….to move to Calgary?" the _almost_ sister in law demanded.

"Why the hell not, Lou? There is no reason for me to stay in that trailer anymore." Ty said defiantly.

"What happens when Amy comes back?"

"You mean, _IF_ she comes back!" he countered.

"What do you mean, _IF_ she comes back?"

Ty got up out of his chair and walked to the desk where his laptop and printer were sitting. He picked up a small stack of papers with pictures and stories printed on them.

"_THIS_ is what I mean." Ty said through gritted teeth as he handed them to Lou.

The top photo was the one she had seen of Amy in victory circle with Ahmed just after winning the show in London. Ahmed had his arm tightly wrapped around Amy's shoulder and was giving her a kiss on the cheek with Amy scrunching her face in a wide smile.

"This is silly, Ty!" Reprimanded Lou. "They had just won their first show. After all they had been through, of course they are going to celebrate such a big win."

"Keep going." Ty said flatly.

Next was a copy of the front page of a celebrity chasing paper, not highly reputable, but popular in Europe. The headline read "The Next Royal Couple?" Ahmed had his hand at Amy's back, guiding her into the back of his limousine. She was wearing a formal gown and looked as good as Lou had ever seen her.

There was another with close up facial shots of the two of them having a friendly conversation at what was apparently another party of some kind.

Lou thumbed through most of the pages and sat there for a moment just looking at her lap, trying to think how these pictures and stories looked to Ty or anyone else that saw them.

"OK, Ty, look at these pictures and think about who took them and what their intended purpose was." She reasoned. "The people who take these photos catch an innocent conversation and try to turn it into a scandal, romance, or….whatever in order to sell their papers off of the newsstands! These pictures do NOT prove a thing to me. They—"

Ty cut her off. "Lou, do you see where they are? Places like Paris and in the Riviera on the beach….where there _are no_ jumping competitions. And one more thing…do you see the ring?"

Lou picked the papers up again to examine them closer and sure enough, Amy's left hand was bare. "What the…"

Lou spent another thirty minutes listening to her friend, and nearly family, talk about how he had been keeping up with Amy on her journey. The information he was finding, the missed phone calls, the arguments and unanswered questions that had been raised were all coming down on Ty and Lou got the sense that he seemed to be preparing to move on.

"Look, Ty, I don't know what is going on just yet, but don't YOU get carried away with this trash. There has to be an explanation, and you can bet that I'm going to get to the bottom of it!"


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

Her phone rang at 8:00am and Lou punched the accept button to answer Amy's call.

"Did you find him?" the younger sister asked.

"He was right where Cassandra said he would be." She replied.

Still confused, Amy wondered, "Well, what is the story, what does he think he is doing?"

"Listen sis….and HEY, what time is it over there? It must be 3:00am!"

"It is. I just couldn't sleep." She admitted.

"I got some answers, but I'm not sure you are going to want to hear them." Lou said. She was trying to think of the words that would best set up the conversation she had planned for her troubled sister.

"It's over, isn't it?" Amy said dejectedly.

"No, it isn't, not yet." Lou reassured her.

"Do you remember the arguments Peter and I had when we were living in Dubai?"

"Yes, I do."

"Well, that was because I was being forced to live in a place I didn't want to be. With me following him so far away from home I felt that I was all alone, even with him there. Peter was so busy that he couldn't spend much time with me. Then, when I decided to come home and get the Dude Ranch going again, the arguments got worse and happened more often because I missed him so much, and I didn't think he felt the same about me, like….he could do without me just fine. What I am trying to say is that even if you love someone, like _crazy_ love them, both of you have to be in the relationship or one of you is going to get hurt."

Amy listened quietly, tears running down her cheeks onto her hands holding on to the phone. She did not like where this conversation seemed to be going.

"What are you saying, Lou, that I'm hurting him?"

"No, it's not like that, Amy, exactly. It's just that when I was talking to Ty today, I saw a little of myself in him, like what I had experienced with Peter. You see, I never really talked about this to you, or anyone, but I was the one who felt I was going to be left behind, and I began to prepare for the big letdown, when everything came crashing down. I had almost given up and felt completely defeated. It was one of the most awful things I have had to go through." She confided.

"But you made it, didn't you?" Amy reminded her.

"Yes, we did, but it could have gone either way, honestly. Peter loved me and finally started to show me that he was committed to _US_, to me and him. If I hadn't believed he felt that way, it would have been over. I wouldn't have Katie, or Georgie, or any part of the life I have now. Everything would be completely different. Who knows what my life would be like?"

"OK, I get what you are saying, that Ty is feeling left behind and is having a rough time dealing with me being so far away, but do you really think that he believes I don't love him anymore? Do _you_ believe I don't love him anymore?" Amy asked.

"_I_ am sure that you _do_ love him, but _I _am not the one you have to convince."

"Amy, what do you know about what the press is printing about you? Not just you, but you and Ahmed?" Lou continued.

"Everything I have seen has been great, Lou. The interviews have gone well, I think."

"You haven't seen all of the stories about 'The Next Royal Couple' have you?" Lou asked. "The stories are bad enough, but Ty has been keeping up with you and he handed me a stack of pictures showing you and Ahmed apparently having a hot new romance."

"W-what the hell do they say?"

"You need to watch yourself. There are people over there who are making a good living by promoting you as getting ready for the next Royal wedding."

Amy stammered as she tried to breathe.

"This is ridiculous, Lou. Ahmed and I get along fine, most of the time, but there is NOTHING going on as far as a _romance_ is concerned." She fumed.

"You know what hurt Ty the most? Some of these are pictures of you without your engagement ring."

"I NEVER take this ring off! If there are pictures of me without it, they're fake."

Amy's mind was spinning in anger and fear at the same time.

"I could just wring somebody's neck over this, except I don't even know who these people are!" Amy told her sister, incensed. "And Ty, I can only imagine what is going through his head right now. He has these images that HE thinks is proof that I've abandoned him, like he doesn't even matter to me!"

They both sat silently listening into the phone, waiting to see if either of them had a plan to repair the damage.

"Amy, how do YOU feel about you and Ty? Are you having any doubts about what you really want? Do you think that life on some little farm, being a veterinarian's wife and working with horses like you did before will be enough now that you see what is out there for you, if that's what you choose to do? I can tell you that these are the questions Ty has been wondering about, and he is preparing himself to accept….if the answer is no."


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

The house had a garage that the owner said would be OK for Ty to use to work on his bikes and keep them safely stored. He was sitting on a stool beside an old Triumph motorcycle that Scott had lined up for him to repair. He finished installing the carburetor back on the engine and was staring at it like a crystal ball as if the future would miraculously appear before his eyes. 'What am I going to do now?' he thought. 'Nothing is going to matter anymore without Amy in the picture.'

His memories of her accident were the ones that used to scare him the most. Amy was nearly taken from him six months ago because of the accident while working with Ahmed's horses at Hillhurst Stables. Her injuries left her in an uncertain state and their future was set aside to allow her the time to heal. He could have lost her then, and if it had happened that way he hoped he could have found a way to accept his fate and move on. This was different. After everything they had done together, everything they had been through, she was choosing to walk away. 'I just missed it. I thought we were past all of the doubt, that we knew where our lives were headed, together. I blew it.'

He was also thinking that three days had passed since Lou came to see him. He figured by now that Lou would have told everyone back home what she had found out. It would have been a typical mission for her to have Jack or Caleb 'happen' to be in the neighborhood and drop by to check on him. He thought of her more of _his_ older sister than as Amy's, sometimes.

Amy still hadn't called. He didn't really expect to hear from her much after all of the arguing and awkward conversations lately. He also wasn't looking forward to her next call because he expected it to be the 'It's been nice knowing you, but let's just be friends' talk.

The door behind him creaked open and let in a ray of sunlight. Usually it was one of the boyfriends of the girls who lived downstairs wanting to check out the old motorcycles and dream about getting one for themselves. After a few seconds passed and no one had spoken Ty turned to see who it was. His heart stopped at the sight of a familiar silhouette backlit by the sun.

"Amy?" He stood in disbelief.

She wanted to run and throw her arms around him, but she was unsure and feared he might reject her. She carefully took the first step, then another until she was directly in front of Ty.

Neither of them had spoken yet when Amy took a swing with her right hand and smacked Ty squarely in the chest with a thud. He was caught completely off guard and had to grab the handlebar of the Triumph to steady himself.

"Amy! What the hell?" as he gasped for air.

She took her left hand with the palm facing her, fingers rigid and vertical, and thrust it inches in front of his face.

"What do you see?" she demanded.

The ice blue eyes that could always melt him into a babbling fool when she looked at him were throwing nothing but fire his way now.

"I see your other hand. Is it goanna hit me too?"

She took both hands this time and popped him in the chest again, sending him backwards over the stool he had been sitting on and onto his back, flat on the ground.

"What is on my hand?" she demanded again, leaning over him, putting the hand in its previous position in front of his face.

"Th-the ring?" he offered, unsure of any other possible answer.

"_This_ ring has been on _this_ finger since the last time I saw you. It stays on this finger when I am out in public…._ALWAYS_, and it will _ALWAYS_ be on this finger until you ask for it back!" she explained, to the point.

"But…."

"You, yourself told me that there are no buts, Ty. Did you think that I was playing around when I accepted your proposal and you put this ring on my finger?"

"No?"

"Good answer!"

"Then why the hell are you giving up on us? Is that what this is all about, are you giving up on us….on _ME_? Do you want this ring back, Ty?" Amy demanded, yet again.

"Of course not, but I –"

"There is that '_BUT'_ again! Do you want it back?"

Ty knew the look she had on her face and this was the most intense version he had ever seen.

"NO! I don't want it back!" he yelled out. "I want YOU back!"

Amy's blue eyes softened and Ty saw the tears well up and start to stream down her cheeks and onto his shirt. She reached out her hand to Ty and helped him pull himself up. After righting his stance, he stepped toward her and grabbed Amy around her waist, pulling her up close to his face. He drew her into a kiss like he had never kissed her before, like his life depended on it, because he believed that it did. Amy threw her arms around his neck and began to clinch his hair with her fingers, her heart pounding in her chest hard enough that she thought it might explode. Neither wanted the kiss to stop. It was an overwhelming comfort for each of them to be in the arms of the one they loved more than anything else and each had missed the assurance of the other's touch so desperately.

Ty set her down until she was on her feet again. Amy was looking into his intense green eyes that always made her feel like everything would be alright, and made her knees feel a little weak when he looked at her like that.

"Let's go upstairs…. _now_!" Amy said to her fiancée with the look that he had missed the most.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

Sunlight began to filter through the curtains at the east end of the room. Ty lay awake and tried to readjust his mind to the events of the past few hours. 'What a difference a day can make!' he was thinking in amazement. He needed to unload the thoughts which had been weighing him down. Everything was different now. For the first time in a long time he felt like Amy was really committed to him and their relationship as future husband and wife. There would be a lot of things to sort out over the next few days and months. They still hadn't talked about how long she was staying, but now he was full of hope again, and it felt good!

Amy was curled up against him with her head resting on a pillow over his left arm. Her left hand was on his chest tracing small circles with her fingers while she slept. As soon as he could see her in the pale light, Ty just laid still and watched her sleep. 'My God, you are so beautiful.' He was thinking.

The glow of light soon woke Amy and she looked around for a few seconds trying to remember where she was, thinking it had to have been a dream, being back in Alberta with Ty. Looking at her hand placed on Ty's bare skin made her realize that her dream was real and she quickly raised her eyes toward her fiancée.

"Hello, beautiful." Ty said, smiling. "Good morning."

"Hey, good morning….Have I told you yet today that I love you?" she said, smiling back.

"I was beginning to think that you were _never_ going to tell me."

She pinched him with her fingers and laughed.

"Well, _this_ is the way I want to wake up from now on." She told him.

"Nothing that being a few thousand miles closer to home won't fix." He joked.

Amy raised her head up to look him in the eye.

"We are going to need to decide pretty soon what I am going to do about that."

"Do you mean when you are going back to Europe?"

"Yeah, or IF I am going back at all." She said.

"Let's just forget about that for a little while longer." Ty proposed. "I'm not done welcoming you home just yet."

Georgie, Lou and Peter's adopted 12 year old daughter, was finishing up the morning chores when she saw Ty's old blue truck winding down the driveway toward the house. She watched it as it pulled past her and she couldn't believe her eyes.

"Amy!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

Lou came running through the front door with Jack close behind thinking that Georgie must have been hurt. They both stopped in their tracks at the sight of the unexpected driver opening the door and stepping out to the ground.

"Amy?" Wh-hat are you doing here?" Lou cried.

They all ran together and made a huge family hug.

"I asked Ty if I could drive. I have ridden in the back of cars since I've been gone and I just wanted to see if I'd forgotten how." She told her family.

"When did you get back?" Jack asked his granddaughter.

"Yesterday afternoon." She answered.

Lou immediately raised her eyebrows at her sister and gave her a knowing look and smile.

Amy tried to ignore the implication, blushed, and kept talking.

"We had a short break so I asked if I could take a trip back home for a few days. Ty and I will talk about it to see when, or if I go back."

"Come on into the house." Jack motioned.

Georgie began with questions regarding the horses Amy had been working with and Lou wanted to know about the places she had seen. The talk was moving along at a rapid pace when Tim came through the front door.

"Hey, my own daughter doesn't tell her old man when she gets back from a three month trip?" He complained light heartedly.

Ty cringed at Tim's arrival, but he was in a great mood and figured he could take whatever the antagonist could dish out.

It wasn't any more than five minutes and Tim asked Amy, "What are you doing here, anyway? Don't you have some more time left on that trip?"

"Yes, I have five more weeks until the championship weekend in Lyon, France. There are stops in Spain, Abu Dhabi, Italy, and then finally France.

"Well, it sounds like quite an adventure. Why would you want to come back here and live with the peasants when you have been living like royalty for so long?" Tim took his obligatory jab at Ty.

Amy took hold of Ty's arm and gave it a firm squeeze, reminding him to let it go.

"Com'on Amy, why are you taking a stupid chance like this to put your relationship with the Prince at risk?"

Ty got up and walked directly toward Tim.

"Outside, NOW!" he demanded of his future father in law.

"Just hold on a minute there, Ty. What are you getting so worked up about?" Tim deflected the intent.

"Get up, or I am going to drag you outside, so help me God!"

Now, Tim having been challenged by the younger bull in the herd, was getting riled up. He rocked forward and strode through the front door, banging it around against the side of the house.

"Ty, please, don't do this." Amy begged, unsure how a fight would turn out between her fiancée and her father, but she couldn't see a good outcome, no matter what happened.

"Amy, let him go." Jack motioned to his granddaughter. "Maybe it's best to let them settle this now. I will make sure they don't kill each other." He said with a half-cocked grin.

Tim stepped off the front porch and turned around to find Ty's hands at his shirt collar with a firm grip. He made an attempt to jerk free but the younger man had him and was not going to let go easily.

"This is where it stops!" Ty told him as he placed his face inches in front of surprised cowboy. "You are not going to be talking down to your son in law ever again, are you Tim? "Or else your son in law is going to kick your sorry ass until you remember to give him some respect!"

The five time All Around Rodeo Champion drew his fist to take a swing and in a split second he was flat on his back after Ty landed a solid blow squarely on his jaw.

Lou and Amy flew off the front porch side by side in a flash, Lou kneeling beside her dad and Amy grabbing Ty around the waist in an attempt to calm him down.

It only took one punch for Ty to make the point that he needed to make. Lou helped her dad to his feet and the two middleweights stood and looked at each other for a few seconds when Tim offered his hand toward the man who wanted to marry his youngest daughter.

"Hot damn, I knew you had it in ya!" he bragged.

The sisters turned simultaneously to their Grandfather, still leaning against one of the posts holding the roof over the front porch, and shrugged their shoulders in a 'what the hell?' motion, demanding some sort of justification for not stopping the whole fiasco.

"He simply turned around and opened the front door, looked back at his granddaughters, and smirked, "That's what I'm talkin' about!" and went on inside, letting the door swing shut behind him.


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

Amy was driving Ty's truck North on Highway 2 back to his apartment in Calgary. They were both deep in thought about the events of the past day when she was first to speak.

"I am sooo glad that dad left to go to his new lady friend's house for dinner. At least we got a chance to have a pleasant meal with my family, or I should say _our_ family." Amy glanced over to her passenger and smiled.

"I was just wondering, though, am I going to have to start checking your knuckles again?" She was trying to lighten up the tension.

Ty wrinkled his eyebrows and turned to look at her quizzically.

"What? What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

He saw that she was smiling mischievously, probably prodding him into a teasing war.

"Do you remember when we were still kids and I was always making you show me your knuckles to prove that you had talked your way through a dispute instead of flying into a fist fight? I would know just by looking at your knuckles if you were telling me the truth. Am I going to need to start checking those knuckles every time you see my Dad?" she taunted him.

"Look, Amy, I am _really_ sorry about what happened today." He said, embarrassed by the sideshow at the ranch.

"I just….I have just _had_ it with him. He never lets up, you know? _EVERY_ time he gets the chance he will do that thing he does, throw me some wise ass remark. I can't take it anymore!"

"Well, you shouldn't have to!" She assured him. "And, if you ever repeat what I am going to say right now, I will deny it, but….Dad had that coming and I was kind of hoping you would finally call him out for it. Maybe now he will back off."

"Man, I sure hope so. Maybe that new girlfriend will take the edge off him."

"Oh, is that what it takes?" she egged him on.

"What?" He was having a hard time figuring out where she was going with this.

"Are you saying that it takes a woman to calm a man down so he isn't trying to get into fights all the time?" still prodding.

He reasoned "It sure couldn't hurt, could it?"

"Well, there is a flaw in that theory, Mister, because I have been in town for twenty four hours and you have only gotten worse!" she was laughing at him now. Amy enjoyed getting Ty flustered and teasing him along.

In less than one hour they were upstairs on the sofa settling in to watch a movie when Ty brought up the question lurking in the air all day.

"So tell me, have you enjoyed your time travelling and working with the team, seeing all of those amazing places, being the center of attention to half of Europe? Have you thought about when you are going back?"

"That depends." She pondered. "It is very important to me to understand how _you_ feel about it….I mean _really_ feel about it. You can't hold back from me this time, Ty." She pointed out. "Nothing is worth having you feel the way you did these past few weeks and I have to honestly say it really hurt me that you felt like I would throw away everything we have done, everything we hope to do."

"I know, Amy. I was trying as hard as I could to keep busy and not think about you being gone, we can thank Lou for seeing to that, but I can't help missing you. I let those stories and pictures take over my imagination. It's hard for me to see you with someone else like that. You seemed so happy to be with him and I let it get the best of me. I just felt so….helpless to do anything about it. You make such a big difference in me…. to my life. I don't know how I can explain it, but it isn't just about _me_ now. I can't think of myself without you as a part of anything I do. I thought I was losing you after we finally came so close to making a go of it."

"I feel the same way, Ty. I want everything I do to be about us, together, but for some reason I don't think you believe me when I tell you that. Listen, I _do_ get that your family situation so early in your childhood had a devastating effect on your trust toward people. It is a shame, the way they treated you, but _we_ are not _them_. You need to accept me and my family for who we are. We _mean_ it when we say you are a part of us. Grandpa thinks as highly of you as he does me or Lou! And Lou, she has told me that _you_ are the little brother she always wished she had. And as for me, you have been the best friend I have ever known. I have watched you grow up and become the amazing man that I have fallen so completely in love with." Amy confessed.

"What about you?" Ty looked directly into her eyes and gently placed his hand at her cheek. "Do you know without a doubt that you will be happy living the life we dreamed about before all of this came up? Everything has changed so much. We both know now that the world is a big place and you have proven the whole world can be yours, if you want it. What I am trying to say, Amy….is that I want more than anything else to be sure you have everything you need to feel satisfied with our life, like you are getting everything you want out of life every day, and not like you are missing out on something."

It upset her to think there was any question about where they would go from here, but she knew Ty meant what he said and appreciated his total honesty.

"I hope you know without any doubt that I wouldn't do anything that put our relationship at risk. The success I have had in Europe has been gratifying to a point, but the great things I have experienced were, I don't know, kind of hollow without you and my family to share them with me. I missed you so much!

I don't think I have ever had a more special memory than when we won the Fall Finale with Spartan. I rode well, Spartan was awesome, and it was your 'pretzel' looking plan for the course that made the difference. You were my coach and we did it _together_. You, Lou, and Grandpa were there to see it and share it with me. It makes all the difference. It was also the first time you ever kissed me!"

They both took a few seconds to remember that night.

"Why don't we just relax, watch a movie, and we can talk about this tomorrow, OK?" Ty suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Amy replied, thankful for some alone time with her man.


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

There was a knock at the bathroom door as Ty finished brushing his teeth. "Come on in, I'm about ready."

"Do you mind if I use the truck to go to the ranch today? Amy asked. I think I would like to spend the day pampering Spartan, Pegasus, and Harley. They surely think I have abandoned them."

"Sure, I walk to class now so it's not a problem. Use it any time you need it. What do you have planned for them?" he asked.

"Well, I have this recipe I got from Mrs. Bell to make some treats for them. Remember how her little Sugarfoot used to go nuts for them? I know our boys will like them too. Then, I'll try to find someone to go on a trail ride with me and get them some exercise."

"Sounds like a good day….have fun!" he said as he rinsed his mouth and kissed his favorite cowgirl on her forehead before he gathered his backpack and headed out the door.

* * *

"So, Amy, have you and Ty talked it out? Is everything OK?" Lou asked, being the nosy sister that Amy would expect her to be.

Amy opened the door to the oven to check on her second batch of treats and decided they were done.

"Actually, we have had some of the best conversations I can remember having together, about us and our future. We are OK, Lou. I think we have sorted out the misunderstandings each of us had and we know where we are as a couple again. We just missed each other more than anything else."

"That's great to hear, Amy! You guys have the sweetest relationship of any couple I have ever known. It's just so….real and honest. I would hate to see anything come between you."

"Are you referring to Ahmed by any chance?"

Lou started backpedaling. "I don't know, Amy, I meant….just anything."

"Yeah, right! Just to set the record straight, Ahmed _did_ ask how I felt about Ty and my life here at home. He hinted that he could open more doors for me if I wanted, and anything I could ever want or need would be a reality, not just a dream. But after I told him I was sure about my plans to come back here he wished me well and backed off."

"So…. maybe Ty wasn't so far off, being worried then?"

"I suppose not, as far as Ty having some kind of sense about Ahmed's intentions and having suspicions about what he might be thinking, same as you and Soraya did. Lou, I know I love Ty and I wouldn't let anything keep us from going through with our plans. I'll have to admit though, the thought of having such an offer of riches beyond my wildest dreams was a bit overwhelming….for about ten seconds!"

"Have you told Ty any of this?"

"_NO_! And neither will _anybody_ else, get my drift?" She warned, using one of her grandpa's favorite phrases.

"Don't worry. That would be trouble, for sure. It's forgotten already." Lou reassured her sister.

* * *

Caleb came through the office door in the barn to see his old friend back in her chair behind her mother's old desk.

"Well, well, look who's back!"

"Hey Caleb, what are you up to today?" she asked.

"Jack wanted me to run some of his cattle over to Tim's pasture next to the Dude Ranch. I guess I'm being a real cowboy today, huh?" he laughed.

"Sounds like it." Amy nodded.

"So, what is your take on the whole European adventure, anyways?" he asked.

"It has been a great learning experience and it has helped as far as business contacts and such. Hopefully the exposure will lead to some great clients down the road."

"Great! I'm glad it went so well for you. Are you going back?"

"We still need to decide what to do about that. We will have that talk tonight when I get back to Ty's place."

"What about that?" Caleb wondered, "I mean, Ty moving out of the trailer and into town? Do you think it had anything to do with him believing that Prince guy was after more than a horse trainer?"

"What? Are you kidding me?" That caught her off guard and stung just a little.

"Whoa, I just heard about all of those stories and pictures in the newspapers. I figured you could either say it was so, or it wasn't." He reasoned in his own cowboy way.

"Those aren't newspapers, Caleb, they are gossip rags that make stories up for profit, and NO, there wasn't anything to them! I can't believe you would ask me something like that!"

"I don't know, Amy. That could have been the world's best job offer….more money than you could ever climb over!"

"Thanks a lot for the vote of confidence!" Amy reacted, kind of hurt.

"No, Amy, nobody who knows you would ever think anything like that about you. The 'Miracle Girl' is her own woman….doesn't need some Prince to make her dreams come true." Caleb hoped he was able to divert a proper ass chewing.

Amy looked at him for a long couple of seconds and then decided to let it go, it _was_ Caleb after all.

"I think it may be a wise choice, for now, I mean Ty's moving closer to school." She redirected his train of thought back onto the rails. "It helps keep him studying and it should help him get his grades back where they belong." She reasoned.

"Boy, those look good!" Caleb said as he grabbed one of Amy's horse treats out of a basket on her desk.

"But…..Caleb!"

"Com'on Amy, don't you think I deserve one of these?" he asked with his trademark smile.

She had the warning on the tip of her tongue, then, reconsidered it.

"Yeah, I DO think you deserve it!" she smiled her approval.

"Great! Well, I guess I'd better get back to it then." As he grabbed one more treat for the road.

* * *

"Amy?" Lou asked as she walked up to her sister at Spartan's stall.

"Did I just see Caleb eating one of those horse treats you made this morning?"

"That was his second, actually." She explained, smiling from ear to ear. "He said he deserved one, and I decided that he was right after that stunt he pulled with getting Ty to buy Charger like he did. Ty could have lost his entire savings!"

"But….those things are like a big fiber pill, aren't they?"

Amy was almost giggling, "Mrs. Bell said Sugarfoot loved them and they kept him as regular and on time as a two hundred dollar watch."

"Won't that be a bit inconvenient for Caleb, working all the way on the other side of the Dude Ranch?"

"Don't worry, Lou, Caleb will have plenty of privacy out there when it hits him. But I wouldn't send anyone out that way for a trail ride today. That would be kind of….awkward!"

The sisters doubled over into a laughing fit and had to steady themselves to wipe the tears out of their eyes.

* * *

Ty walked through the door of his apartment at 6:30pm. Amy had only gotten home a short time before him and she couldn't wait to tell him about her day. She told him about the nice trail ride with Spartan along with Lou riding Harley. She began to tell him about the horse treats and Ty joined her in another laughing fit with the picture in their minds of Caleb's face the moment the urge hit him.

"I feel kind of bad about that….but not _real_ bad." Her eyes sparkled with delight.

"While I was riding with Lou, she asked if we had talked about the farm. Now I know what happened the night I told you about Ahmed's offer. I know that you just let it go without saying anything to me about the appointment. Why would you do that, Ty?"

"To be honest," he confided, "it caught me by surprise and I didn't know how to react. I could tell how excited you were about the job offer and I didn't want to ruin it for you. All of a sudden, the farm wasn't the most important thing for us anymore."

"Did you think that the farm wasn't important to me, that I just flipped some switch and turned off any dreams we had for the place?" She asked sincerely.

"I was so overwhelmed with questions about how the time apart would affect us and neither of us had an answer for that. I just sort of….froze."

"I was crushed when Lou told me the farm had sold." Amy explained. "I realized then what you must have thought of me." She took hold of his hands with her own and moved in closer.

"Amy, it's just a piece of land. The only memories we made there were of the walks we took while you were recovering from the accident. We have time to find our own place someday and make our memories there."

Amy put her arms around Ty's waist and hugged him tight.

"We will, I know that." She affirmed.

He finally brought it up again. "Now, about the tour? Have you taken time to think about it today?" he asked.

"I need to finish it, the tour, don't you think?

"Yes, I do. I want us to be the kind of people who are known for finishing what we start. That is one way to gain the respect I want our clients to have toward us." He explained.

"I agree, but will we be OK now?" Amy asked. I want to be sure about that before I can think about leaving again."

"Yes, we're goanna be OK. It's only five weeks this time, right? I can't lie to you, I am going to miss you like crazy, but I'll be fine. These past few days have helped me to realize that you are not going to change your mind about our plans, no matter what. Having you here has made more of a difference than you will ever know. I just hope when you come home next time you don't feel the need to beat me up. I may be the one who needs to check _your_ knuckles."


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

This was a different kind of departure than the last one she had three months ago. The walk to the gate at the airport in Calgary had them arm and arm once again, but this time Amy and Ty were together without the family looking on. She said her goodbyes back at the ranch to Grandpa Jack, Lou, Georgie, Katie, and Peter, who had just gotten home after an extended business trip. She took the time for each of them to give her a warm send-off.

"Soooo, I guess you're all set then?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think I have everything."

"You know, I am having a little trouble reading you this morning."

Amy's eyes flinched at his observation. "What do you mean?"

"You seem a bit…. off today, like you are especially worried about something?" he posed as more of a question than comment.

"I am just thinking about things I need to do once I get to Spain, I guess. I'll have to catch up with….everything."

Ty was puzzled by her evasive reply.

"Is there anything in particular that is bothering you?"

"No….It's…. just, there are some issues to deal with when I get there. The horses have been moved around a lot lately and I haven't been there to keep them _or_ the riders calmed down if there have been any flare-ups. Ahmed seemed agitated about something when I called to make arrangements to fly back. He is insistent on going to Abu Dhabi. I have told him I thought it would be too much for the horses _and_ the team to add another show to a schedule that was full enough in the first place. With the success we had in the early season I think he wants to demonstrate to his people that he has grown into his father's shoes, so to speak. The competition in Abu Dhabi is the closest show available for him to display the progress he has made as a serious leader to the people in his country who doubted him, not as a spoiled son of a leader. He has his mind made up to do it, and since I have been have been away from the team….let's just say it has made him less confident about a good outing when we get there."

"Well, Ahmed should know by now that you are the one who can get the job done." Ty reassured her. "Just do what you know is right. That always seems to work out for the best, doesn't it?" He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her tightly toward him and kissed her forehead.

The couple had come to the gate where Amy's flight was sitting ready to board its passengers. Ty's heart was beating faster now and he was consciously making an effort to remain calm and not embarrass himself in front of her.

"You OK?" She asked, knowing her fiancée all to well.

"OK as I can be, I guess. I'm not goanna lie, I won't _ever_ feel good about letting you go for this long and so far away, not now, not fifty years from now. I like having my best girl around." He said, trying to lighten the mood.

Amy stepped in front of him and looked up into his misty green eyes with her own which were misty blue. "I am going to miss you too, you know. But we only have five weeks this time, right?"

"Five minutes is too long, if you ask me, but we will get through it and then we can get on with our lives."

Ty pulled her close and reached down to give her the kiss that he knew would have to last for much longer than he wished. Before he knew it, Amy had disappeared through the tunnel leading to the passenger door on the aircraft.

"Damn, I hate this." was the only thing he had left to say, to nobody but himself.

* * *

Her journey was delayed in London in route to its destination of Malaga Airport in Spain. Layovers in airports were not Amy's favorite thing, reminding her how nice it was to travel in Ahmed's private jet without the inconvenience of waiting to change flights or having to find her way in unfamiliar places. She was not looking forward to sitting in the uncomfortable seats in the terminal for two more hours before she was to board the next to last switch over in Spain.

Amy had been turning many thoughts around in her head during the day and the pressure of uncertainty and indecision was building into a nagging headache. She was thankful for Ty not asking the questions she had expected during her visit. As usual, his way of handling it was to let her talk about whatever was troubling her as much as she wanted, do what he could to help ease her mind, then, just let her work it out the way she needed to. She also knew how he must be feeling right now and knowing that she had revealed less than one hundred percent of her situation to Ty, or Lou, or another living soul was causing some regret to overcome her. The feeling that Ty had somehow sensed it wouldn't leave her alone.

* * *

With all of the hours in the air, layovers, and loss of time to a series of advancing time zones, Amy had spent most of a complete day, finally reaching the airport in Malaga. Ahmed was waiting when she arrived to take her to his chartered helicopter for the remainder of the way to Vejer de la Frontera and his family's private villa overlooking the village.

The Prince seemed as nervous upon seeing her as she was to see him and he tried to cover it up by rushing people along to get her luggage loaded and the flight started as quickly as possible.

"How was your time at home, Amy?" Ahmed asked.

"I had a wonderful time! It was great to see everyone and spend some time with all of them." She answered, trying to keep details to a minimum.

"And, Ty?" Ahmed asked, getting right to the point. "How is he dealing with your returning to the job at hand?"

Amy thought a second, and then said, "Well, he certainly doesn't like to have me so far away for this long, but he's OK with it, for now."

Ahmed gave her a nod and said, "We have a lot of things to discuss after you have had a time to rest from your journey." He said.


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

The rodeo star turned manual laborer grunted as he tossed what he figured to be his ten thousandth shovel of dirt out of the trench he and Ty were digging for Jacks' new automatic watering system for the horses. Caleb had done this once before with Jack when Lou pressured him into trying to install the same system three years ago. Jack was not the type of man to be pressured into anything and ultimately the project was a miserable failure leading to the stubborn rancher selling the system to a neighbor, just to get rid of the whole thing. Jacks' idea was that a hose and bucket had worked for as long as there had been hoses and buckets so there was no need to change the way they watered the horses now.

"What made Jack change his mind about installing this stupid watering system again, anyways?" Caleb whined to his friend. "I guess he's forgotten what a mess this turned into the last time we tried to put it in."

"He said since Amy wasn't around and Georgie was always so busy with school stuff, her riding lessons, and all the shows that she competes in these days that he needed to get some help keeping up with the chores around here. _And_, it doesn't hurt that it's _his_ idea now, so that makes it the smart thing to do….this time." Ty laughed.

"Soooo, what have you heard from Amy? How's she getting along with _His Royal Highness_?" Caleb scoffed.

"It's been a little tense, for some reason. She hasn't given me that many details, just that it has been rough getting everyone back on track since she has been working with the team again."

"What's the deal with that guy, Ty?" Caleb wondered. "How well do you know him?"

"Well," Ty said "I'll have to admit that I have looked into whatever I can find on the internet. Ahmed's father was the Sheikh of one of the mid-sized countries in the Middle East. He was powerful and rich, and he had a lot of influence with other leaders in the region until he died two years ago. Now, Ahmed is next in line to rule the country as soon as something called the Council of Ministers, the people who are running things in the meantime, think he is ready to handle the responsibility. Apparently the Prince had spent all of his youth travelling around the world blowing money on this and that, which caused a lot of doubt that he was capable of holding the office…. It gets complicated….Anyways, that is why this tour with the jumping team is such a big deal and Amy is caught right in the middle, between Ahmed and the people who decide his fate as leader of his country."

"Com'on man, don't you have a problem with him taking Amy all over the world like that? Don't you get the feeling he is looking for a Snow White kind of girl of his own?"

"Caleb….just let it go, OK! I have hard enough of a time dealing with all of this as it is, without everybody bringing up the_ Prince finds his Princess _storybook scenario all the time." Ty stabbed the shovel into the ground and sat on the pile of dirt behind him. "It could drive me crazy if I think about it too much." He hesitated to take in a breath. "I feel pretty sure that he is trying to make Amy see what her life could be like with him, and I think something might have happened before she came back home last week. She never said anything….it's more what she didn't say."

"What do you mean, didn't say?"

"I kept waiting for her to explain those side trips that the papers made such a big deal out of…. Paris?...What the hell was that about? And where did the fancy dresses and jewelry come from? I didn't say anything because I didn't want to ruin what little time we had together, but now, there's the added trip to Abu Dhabi!" he worried.

"Ty, man, why don't you just ask her for yourself? I did!" Caleb declared.

"What?" Ty was shocked that Caleb would ask her such a thing.

"I saw her in the barn one day while she was here." said the cowboy. "We talked for a while, then, I just asked her about the stories and pictures in the papers…. Told her she could say it was so, or it wasn't. She chewed me out pretty good over that! She said it was B.S. Maybe so," he supposed, "but I couldn't have done it….I mean, let her go back to Europe like you did. I tried that with Ashley and look how that turned out for me!"

Caleb and Ashley were longtime friends of Ty and Amy who got married too young. Her mother instigated any number of ways to come between them and finally succeeded by convincing her daughter to move out west to Vancouver to finish school. Caleb tried to give up his cowboy aspirations and followed his wife to the city and a completely different way of life. He became miserable over time and came back to Hudson without her. He had to let her go, just like Ty had to let Amy go, and he couldn't imagine how it could possibly have a good outcome for his friend, so he asked, "Why did you decide to let her go the second time?"

Ty pulled in another breath and thought before he let it out and answered.

"I gotta tell you, I have asked myself that question many times, but the truth is, I just have to be content that I tried as hard as I could to show her how I felt about her. She knows that I love her more than anything else. She knows the good and the bad parts of my life….everything about me, really. She knows that I would do anything I possibly could for her. If that still isn't enough to make her happy, then what have we got, Caleb?"

"Don't worry, Ty. She is different than most girls. I don't think the jet-set lifestyle will make her happy, in the long run." he said, trying to give his friend some encouragement.

Caleb added, "When she comes back and you are married, you might want to think about a backup plan for eating at home, though."

"Why is that?"

"Amy can do amazing things with horses, and she is a good friend, but if she does the cooking, well, you will have to figure out a way to survive, man." commented Caleb the food critic. "I hope you didn't get into any of those apple crisps she made the other day. I took a couple of 'em and let me tell you, about an hour later I had a pain in the gut to hit me and I spent most of the afternoon running to the woods! To be honest, I wouldn't give one of those things to my horse!"

Ty almost choked while taking a drink from his water bottle at the vision of Caleb getting into Mrs. Bells' horse treat recipe that Amy had made for Spartan, Harley, and Phoenix.


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

Zeus was making a handful of himself. He had been jittery all morning and this afternoon he nearly tossed Ahmed out of the saddle on two occasions. The Prince was getting more and more upset by the minute.

"Just ease him into a canter and let him work off some of his attitude," Amy suggested.

"We do not have time for this nonsense, Amy! We need to get him to behave better, and quickly!"

The recently returned team trainer and, today, Royal Psychologist, stood in the center of the arena thinking about what her next move would be.

"I know…..Uhghhh! OK, could you come here for a minute, please?" she asked him.

Ahmed guided Zeus toward her and the stallion fidgeted beside his trainer. She grabbed his muzzle to see if she could calm him down.

Amy wanted to have Ahmed close enough so that the others would not overhear when she voiced her opinion to him. As she moved beside him he looked down with a scowl and huffed a big exhale of frustration.

"Zeus feels your tension. He won't ever relax enough to perform until you show him that you are calm and in control, Ahmed. He's just picking up the stress you are conveying to him."

"Well, Amy, you need to have a talk with this horse and make him understand that I will not tolerate his inconsistency. I never know if he is going to make the jump or throw me over his head!"

"OK, Ahmed, why don't we call it a day and I will get him put up for the night," she suggested. "I can work with him some more in the morning to try and settle him down."

"Fine….you do that!" Ahmed said as he stomped out of the arena.

Amy was going to have to deal with Zeus' temperament, but even more challenging to her since her return was Ahmed. He clearly was letting the pressure to have a successful show in Abu Dhabi get to him. It seemed to be more important than the events scheduled for the European Championship. It actually was _much_ more important to the Prince.

There was another reason for his cool reaction to his trainer, and they would need to get around to dealing with that soon.

Tired from the trying session at the arena, Amy sat her briefcase beside the desk in her room at the Princes' villa. She moved to look through the large window overlooking the brilliantly whitewashed village. The world traveler of late always took a few minutes to appreciate the places she visited. There were so many truly amazing places to see in this world and it thrilled her to be able to do just that.

Vejer de la Frontera was an ancient city on a hilltop overlooking orange groves, orchards, and natural a park. There is even a medieval castle at the top of it all. On a clear day she could see mountains in one direction and across the Strait of Gibraltar onto the coast of Africa in the other.

After a while she glanced at the beautifully ornate antique clock beside her bed. "Eight thirty PM….let's see, ummm, twelve thirty PM Calgary time, maybe I can catch him at his break," she hoped.

"Hey, Amy! Glad you called. I just sat down to lunch."

"Yeah? Well, I just got in from the stables. I have had a lot of Zeus and Prince troubles to deal with since I've gotten back."

"Moody, much?" he baited her.

"Zeus, or Ahmed, or _ME_?" she asked.

"It could be _all_ of you from the sound of it," he teased, trying his best to lower the tension he sensed in her voice.

Amy wished Ty was with her. He could always find a way to make her feel better when she was feeling down. "It's been one of those days, I guess."

He consoled her, "I hope it goes better tomorrow."

"Me too!" she said.

"What is it, almost nine o'clock your time?" he asked. "It sounds like you have your hands full, but I know you have a plan. So, what is it?"

"You know me so well! I do, actually. I have to get Ahmed to loosen up. He is wound tighter than an eight day clock and he has poor Zeus so tensed up he doesn't know what to do."

"Hang in there, sweetheart," he said with encouragement. "Don't let 'em get you down."

Amy blew a laugh into the phone and seemed to be hunting for her next words.

"Did….you just call me _sweetheart_?" she smiled.

"Why, yes, I think I _did_ just call just you sweetheart! Does that sound weird, or something?" Ty said, diverting her attention back to Hudson.

She thought, "Coming from you, it does."

"So did _fiancée_ in the beginning," he reasoned. "Remember?"

"Humm, I suppose you are right," finally responding to his humor.

"Let's see, if I were 8072.56 kilometers closer I would be stealing a kiss from you right about now, Miss Fleming," he matter of factly told her.

"You don't know how good that sounds to me this evening?" she flirted. "Don't even start…. wait…. eight thousand?….are you adding up the distance we are apart with a map on your computer?" she wondered.

"Right down to the last meter," he informed her.

"Thanks a lot! When you put it like that….," she realized, "now I miss you even more!"

The call turned into a few more minutes of flirty conversation before Amy heard a knock.

"Uhh, I gotta go….someone is at the door. Call you in a couple of days, OK? Love you!"

She opened the door and said, "Ahmed! What are doing here this late?"

"We need to discuss some things about the upcoming show in Abu Dhabi, and other things as well," he said.

Amy opened the door to allow her concerned boss to come inside and sit on one of the nicest leather chairs she had ever seen.

"What's on your mind, Ahmed?" she asked.

"I need to know if you are familiar with the traditions and preferences of what is the expected behavior in my country, or all of the region, for that matter?" he asked her.

"Well, we have quite a few people in Canada who follow similar traditions, but I can't say that I know many details," she confessed.

"I know you have befriended some of the staff and you seem to be especially close with your assistant, Kenza. Would you object if I were to have her prepare you by explaining the customs, proper dress, and conduct that would be expected of all of us while we are there? We will all be watched very closely, but there will be many eyes upon you. You may not be aware of this, but you have a large following, especially the women, who have come to think of you, Amy, as an inspiration, their _Miracle Girl_."

Puzzled by the revelation, she asked, "Me? W-why me?"

"Because, Amy, you have demonstrated an ability to tame the magnificent stallions that we ride, and…a reckless, irresponsible, childish Prince," he confided to her.

"I don't know what to say, Ahmed. I am just doing the best I know how to do with the horses," she said.

"But, Amy, your affect has gone far beyond your work with the horses. You have won the hearts of everyone working with the Royal Team, and hearts all over Europe, and my country as well."

"Sure, I would be happy to listen to Kenza," steering the conversation back to safer territory. Maybe I can have dinner with her tomorrow evening and talk about it," she said.

"Good!" he said. "But, I have to ask, Amy, what happened to you in Paris? We were enjoying ourselves so much, why did you run away?"


	17. Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

* * *

**_*FLASHBACK*_**

_*** NOTE: THIS CHAPTER IS SET BEFORE AMY GOES BACK TO ALBERTA TO FIX THINGS WITH TY** **WHICH WAS IN CHAPTER 10** *_

* * *

Seven weeks before the schedule was to take them to Spain, Ahmed made arrangements to have the Royal team flown to Gothenburg, Sweden, the site of their next scheduled competition after Bordeaux.

Amy, Ahmed, and a dozen of her co-workers were walking through Gothenburg Botanical Gardens, four hundred fifty acres of Sweden's' finest examples of plant life which were gathered from all around the world. The Prince had caved in to Amy and her assistant trainer, Kenza, and agreed to the day trip, "For the good of the team."

They all spent the afternoon meandering along gorgeous hiking trails, climbing on huge rocks, taking photographs, and laughing together which helped to ease the stress of the competition and travel they all had been subjected to in the eight weeks since the tour began. Flowers and various plants were arranged in a mass of both natural and intricately detailed explosions of color. The atmosphere was completely different than the high stakes environment of late.

* * *

Other than the time Amy demanded for Ahmed to take Zeus on a trail ride with her and Spartan at Heartland, the two of them had managed very little time away from work together. That ride was an effort of Amy-the-trainer to show Ahmed-the-rider the value of a good bond between a rider and his horse.

_This_ day was an effort to get the Prince to be one of his people for a little while and learn that there was joy to be found in simple things.

They spent the afternoon talking about more pleasant topics than the business matters which consumed most of their time.

The twosome laughed about that first pivotal day in their friendship, the day of the trail ride at the ranch. It was very cold that day and the Prince constantly complained about the temperature, the snow, and that they should be in a heated arena.

That is when Amy told him to "Cowboy up!" Although the comment hurt the Princes' feelings at first, he soon broke down and admitted to Amy that she was right to say it, telling her how much he appreciated her honesty. It was a rare occurrence for him because everyone he knew told him what they thought he _wanted_ to hear, not what he _needed_ to hear. No one had ever spoken to him so frankly and as soon as he recovered from the shock of being treated the same as any other non-Royal citizen, a bond was formed and a new friendship was founded.

* * *

Sunset was approaching and Ahmed seemed as relaxed as Amy had seen him in in a long while. They walked side by side behind the group ahead of them and the Prince told his trainer, "I want to thank you again for being such a good friend, Amy. You are the only one I have to share mutual respect and true friendship with," Ahmed confided to her.

"That is the only way I know how to be with anybody, Ahmed, and just for the record, I think you are a pretty good friend as well."

Amy was learning how to better manage Ahmed and his moods. She discovered that he was honest and faced challenges most people would never know. The Prince was under a lot of pressure from many eyes in his homeland, watching his every move. He _had_ to perform and her job quickly became as much about keeping him calm and focused as it was to do the same for the stallions. She thought she was making progress with all of them and was happy with the results, so far.

The teams' performance in Gothenburg was once again considered a success. Ahmed managed a second place in the competition and one of his other riders placed directly behind him. Satisfied with the results, Monday afternoon the team leader contacted one of the best known horse breeders he knew who lived outside of Paris, France. He wanted to secure a few contacts that could supply him with as many as half a dozen yearlings to get ready for the Royal Team in two or three years' time. He asked Amy to come along and give her opinion and eventually take the selected horses back to Alberta for her train. He promised it to be a valuable opportunity for her potential client situation as well.

* * *

It was an inspiringly sunny Thursday afternoon when the Royal Jet lifted up from the airport in Gothenburg. It then took a course over northern France and straight to Paris. Since it was on the way to the next venue in Spain, Ahmed planned to spend a few days in Paris gathering contacts and showing Amy around the town.

An awaiting limousine soon carried the travelers along historic streets through the scenic city, eventually parking in front of the most extraordinary beautiful hotel Amy had ever seen. It seemed to be right out of the old black and white movies she watched as a child with her mother, directly adjacent to the Eiffel Tower in the heart of town. It was a glorious sight, the lit up tower reflecting across the sparkling Seine River, and the Alberta country girl was awestruck at the sights and sounds which made Paris the legendary city that is was.

A bellman opened the door to her room and when she stepped through it Amy was dazzled to see every assortment of flowers she could imagine strategically placed in colorful displays across the room. The fragrance was like nothing she had ever experienced. Beyond the flowers was a spectacular view of Paris and the famous tower and river as if placed there just for her.

A black lace and sheer evening dress by Alyce Paris was laid across the bed with matching shoes, handbag, and two expensively wrapped jewelry boxes sitting beside it. She reached to run her fingers across the fabric and realized it was the same quality as the dress that Lisa Stillman, Grandpa Jacks' wealthy on-again off-again girlfriend, had brought her from Paris when she was seventeen. The black boxes had gold bows that she slid aside, and when she lifted the top on the first one a pair of diamond earrings leapt into view. A matching diamond necklace was in the other. Attached was a card that read, "Magnificent diamonds for a magnificent Lady. I hope you like them." It was signed, Ahmed. She could not help but think that she would have had to work for a month, maybe two, to pay for such fancy things.

Amy felt like she was in a living fairy tale. "_Is this really happening_?"

* * *

Two hours later, Ahmed knocked on Amy's door to escort her to the dinner meeting. His eyes widened as the door swung open and he watched the Alberta cowgirl slowly transform into a princess right before his eyes. With twinkling diamonds around her neck and the beautiful black dress as a backdrop, she was the incredible beauty he had imagined she would be.

"You are absolutely stunning, Amy!" he said adoringly.

"Thank you, Ahmed. They are beautiful!" she said shyly, directing his attention to the gifts.

"Their beauty will only be exceeded by your own." Ahmed proudly proclaimed.

* * *

The meeting was in an upscale, trendy style restaurant which was the new _in_ place for anyone of distinction visiting town. It was hard for Amy to absorb the lifestyle so unfamiliar to her. She noticed details others would take for granted and tried to imagine what it would be like to have an evening like this every day, not just once in a lifetime.

During the dinner Amy was introduced to a variety of horse breeders from every corner of Europe. She actually enjoyed the conversations she took part in and found them surprisingly receptive to her being there among them. When the others discovered she was knowledgeable and confident in her methods, the crowd was eager to listen to her describe the Heartland operation back at her home in Alberta. Before she knew it, the meal fit for a King, literally, she thought, was finished.

Afterward, the party was taken to a private arena outside of Paris to see some of the finest colts and horses available for selection. She mingled among several of the guests with whom she had struck up a friendly chat and shared thoughts about the assortment of colts. She eventually picked out six that she thought to be the best ones to work with. It was empowering for her to have so much influence in the decisions of a Prince looking toward to the future of his Royal Team.

* * *

Sometime after eleven o'clock they arrived back at the hotel. Amy and Ahmed walked up to her door and talked about how well they had done with the horses she picked, and also what a wonderful time they had enjoyed during the course of the evening. The opportunity to meet so many high end horse breeders who she hoped would turn into clients someday, was an amazing development in her career.

Just as Amy reached for the door, Ahmed placed his palm softly against her cheek and reached down to kiss her gently on the lips. Amy stood there for a few seconds, frozen, with her mind spinning in circles trying to respond.

"I have to ask, Ahmed, what is it that you expect from me?"

The Prince looked straight into her eyes and said, "Only what you wish, Amy."

It took another few seconds for her to regain her sense of direction, then Amy turned into the door and hastily told the Prince, "Ahmed, this is….I can't….I'm so sorry….Please, excuse me!"

She was through the door with a single step and leaned her back against it after it was closed. The illusion of the fairy tale had turned into an alarming reality. Amy knew that she had reached a defining point in her life that would determine her future, the future of others she cared for so deeply, and there would be no turning back once the decision was made.

The emotionally tangled young woman walked across the room and passed through the doors onto the balcony outside. She leaned against the wrought iron railing and took in the breathtaking view of downtown Paris and the iconic tower across the Seine River.

She needed to try and unravel the events of this evening. Ty was so very far away in another world, and the world she was living in now could be hers, if she wanted. Only a few days ago, she was certain of where her life was headed. Now, the thought of having all restrictions in her life lifted away, allowing limitless possibilities for her from now on, was too mind-boggling to ignore.

'_But what would it really be like to live like this?'_ She wondered.

All she had to do was to simply let it happen, and she would find out for herself.

Just as she thought her head might explode, the phone she held chimed in her hand.

"Hello?"


	18. Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

*** CONINUATION OF THE FLASHBACK - THIS CHAPTER IS SET BEFORE AMY GOES BACK TO ALBERTA TO SEE TY IN CHAPTER 10 ***

_Just as she thought her head might explode, the phone she held chimed in her hand._

"Hello?" Lisa! O-ohh…Oh my gosh! What?…I can't believe it!"

Lisa Stillman had been a world renowned horse breeder for years. Amy was fifteen years old when she was introduced to Lisa by her veterinarian and Ty's boss, Scott Cardinal. The introduction led to Amy having the opportunity to prove she was capable of handling high strung and very expensive horses. The two women eventually become good friends which led to Lisa meeting Amy's grandpa, Jack and becoming on-again-off again sweethearts.

"I honestly didn't expect you to answer, Amy. I am sorry to call so late. I heard you were going to be in my neck of the woods tonight and I intended to come and see you, but something urgent came up that I had to attend to," Lisa apologized. "I have been keeping up with you on your adventure this spring. It looks like you are winning Europe over just like you won us over in Alberta. I am so proud of you, Amy!"

"Thank you, Lisa. It has been an unbelievable couple of months," Amy said with pride.

"I feel that I should just tell you what I called about, if you have a few minutes to talk?" Lisa asked.

"Sure, Lisa….I am just so surprised to hear from you! Amy said, "I would have loved to have seen you tonight. I have to admit that I am especially lonely for a familiar face right now."

"I need to ask, honey, is everything OK?" the older woman questioned her friend. "The reason I asked is….and I know it isn't any of my business, so if you think I am out of line, please just say so, but I got a call from one of my friends who attended the gathering at the arena tonight. He told me that he had met you and said you were there with your boyfriend, Prince Ahmed? Has something happened with you and Ty?"

"He is mistaken, Lisa. Ty and I are still together….at least I hope we are!" Amy replied with a hint of prickliness in her voice.

"OK, but are you are aware of what some of the papers here in Europe are saying about you and Prince Ahmed? Lisa asked.

"Yes, Lou made sure I knew what the papers have been printing about us ….after Ty showed her the pictures and stories he has been seeing online."

"Ooochh, that can't be good," Lisa reacted.

"No, it isn't," she answered. "I'm just so….mixed up about everything after the last few days, Lisa."

"Listen, Amy, would you like to come and spend a couple of days with me out here at my place?" Lisa offered. "You know, the one Jack threw such a fit over when I bought it?" she chuckled. It isn't far outside of Paris."

"Are you sure? I would love that! I really need to get away for a while. I could use a good listener right now."

"Well then, it's settled. I will have my driver pick you up in front of your hotel within the hour and I will be waiting up for you when you get here."

"But Lisa, it is going to be pretty late by the time I get there, isn't it?" Amy asked.

"Don't you worry about that! When you get here, I will show you to your room and get you settled in for the night. After a good nights' sleep, we can spend the rest of the day doing whatever we darn well please. I can show you around and then you can see why I love this place so much. How's that sound?"

"That sounds great, Lisa! I don't know how to thank you," Amy told her with obvious relief in her voice.

"Not necessary, sweetheart. Let's just get you here and then we will see about everything else later, OK? See you in a bit."

* * *

Her house, nestled against the top of a hill, was enchantingly lit up in a misty fog for the granddaughter of someone very dear to her. As the car twisted up the driveway, its passenger could see the property's waving proprietor standing beside the entrance to a picture perfect French Villa. The driver hurried around to open the cars' door and Lisa stepped in to give Amy a hug. It was a heartfelt embrace between old friends. They each took comfort in the feeling of family coming together and it took a little longer than usual for them to separate. Lisa then placed her hand on the younger woman's shoulder and led her down a classically rough plastered hallway and up one flight of stairs to a perfectly designed Louis XVI bedroom.

"Here you go…. I am _so_ glad you came, Amy! Now, make yourself at home. Sleep in as late as you want. We are on our own schedule this weekend and for as long as you are here," she reminded her friend. "See you sometime tomorrow morning, eh?" as she winked at her guest.

"Thanks again, Lisa."

Amy was exhausted and with the security of someone so trusted watching over her it took no time at all to fall asleep in her comfortable bed.

* * *

"Has any of this caused you to rethink how you are going to live your life? By that, I mean, are you thinking of taking your career farther outside of Alberta? Lisa asked directly while pouring fresh squeezed orange juice for her visitor.

"I don't know, Lisa, I have only just met some of your friends and I was hoping somehow that a few doors would be opened as a result of meeting them," Amy explained.

"I can certainly help you with that," the experienced horsewoman told her. "In fact, more than one of them has contacted me to tell me how impressed they were to meet you! And…. I have been intending to talk to you about some things concerning both of our futures….in due time. But for now, would you like to talk about what has been bothering you?"

"Yes….Well, I think I have to admit to myself that I underestimated my situation and my ability to control it," Amy confessed. "I feel like I am burning bridges going both directions. I don't even know where to start."

"You know the old saying….." Lisa reminded her.

"Just start at the beginning. I know, that's what Grandpa would say," remembered Jacks' granddaughter.

"Yup, he sure would!" they shared a knowing laugh.

Amy looked into the swirling juice in her glass and said, "Things got a bit intense between me and Ty after he bought that horse, Charger. Caleb talked him into it, and he could have, _and would have_ lost every nickel he had saved. He practically worked himself to death with extra hours at the clinic and odd jobs to earn the money in the first place. I kinda lost it when I found out what he did. It had been tough enough, not spending any time with each other and him being exhausted whenever we actually did get to be together. It shook me up a little when he took that kind of chance."

"It can be rough starting out when you are young," Lisa understood. "Did he tell you why he did it…. took such a gamble?"

"Yeah, he finally told me that he was frustrated because, as hard as he was trying, he wasn't ever going to get ahead, money wise. He saw Charger and knew he was a sound horse, and when he mentioned to Caleb that the owner was giving up on him, Caleb bugged him about it for days on end until Ty finally just took the gamble and put everything he had on a barrel racing horse that couldn't turn in on the first barrel."

"So, that was his excuse?"

"That is what he told me, and I believe him about that part, but…"

"But, what?" Lisa pushed her along.

"I think he was starting to worry about me taking the job at Hillhurst Stables, working with Zeus for Ahmed," she told her. "He would never admit that to me, but I could tell it bothered him. Ahmed gave me a nice bonus check to get me to take the job, then, while Ty and I were just getting over arguing about Charger, he came up with an even bigger offer to do this tour in Europe with his Royal team. I think Ty felt sort of…. left out, like he wasn't holding up his end of the deal we were working on to put a down payment on a farm we had found. With me bringing in most of the money while he is trying to get through vet school, it just made him feel….helpless, not being able to pitch in more. We talked about all of that before I left, but there was still friction over it."

"So, that is how you came to be in Europe with the Prince?" Lisa asked.

"Yes, I realized that I passed up a few great opportunities when I was younger, and I knew there would never be another offer like this one. With all of the drama at home, I decided I would take the chance to get away from it all and come over here to try it…._before_ I got myself married and tied down."

"And where does that leave you with Ty? What does he think about all of this now that you have been gone for two months?"

Amy mulled the question around for a few seconds and said, "I think he may be ready to give up on me, especially after all the rumors and those damn stories and photos in the papers. They _must_ leave some doubt in his mind. I think he is convinced that Ahmed is trying to make me into some kind of _Princess_, like the papers are saying. I haven't been able to talk to him for almost a week. He has stopped picking up my calls. Lou went to see him. She told me she thinks he is getting ready for me to leave him behind, like I just stopped loving him and would walk away from everything we had together."

"Well…., Amy, Would you?…. Change your mind, I mean? Do you think you have the same vision of your future now as you did before you came to work in Europe and enjoyed so much success? How does Ty fit into everything that is happening to you right now? You have to ask yourself, is the life you dreamed about with Ty three months ago the one you see yourself living from now on, after you have seen another way of life?"

Although Amy knew Lisa spoke as a sincere friend who had her best interest at heart, the questions had stung and brought tears to her eyes. Her head was bowed down as she searched for words that needed to come out in the open to her friend and confidant, and to herself. "I have been caught up in this whirlwind of new experiences," she explained. "It has been _so_ exciting to travel and see all of these beautiful new places and talented people. The success we had early with the tour, winning against the best jumpers in the world, only made me appreciate the job even more. I was getting all of this attention and people were saying so many nice things about me. Ahmed accepted me as someone he respected and trusted, something he has never really experienced in his life. I actually felt sorry for him, being so lonely in a world of so called friends. I knew we were getting closer, and I couldn't help thinking what it must be like to live the kind of life he has to offer, but….I let things go too far, Lisa. I didn't mean to hurt him, but he thinks differently of me now, like he wants to carry our relationship to another level."

She fell quiet for a time, trying to gather enough courage to tell the woman she so greatly admired the newest development in her situation. "He kissed me last night, just before you called. I left poor Ahmed outside my front door, standing there wondering why I ran off like I did. But I realized I was being foolish, that I was putting everything I valued the most at risk. Ty would be so hurt if he knew….and I think he must have sensed it, even so far away in our phone conversations, because he knows me better than I know myself, sometimes… he just knows. I'm so confused! I know I love Ty and he is irreplaceable to me. For the longest time, nothing else mattered, just him and me growing up and depending on each other, fighting it out when we needed to, then becoming best of friends….I do believe in soul mates, and I have believed for so long now that he is mine. Somehow, I let this new lifestyle and all the attention get me off track."

Lisa reached out to place her hand over that of her crying friend, "You don't sound all that confused to me, if that is the way you feel."

"It is. I know that now," Amy declared. "More than ever before. I just hope it's not too late to make Ty see that I am in it for the two of us, together."

"Well, Amy, I think I have an idea," Lisa mused. "We need to get your mind off of all this for today. Let me spend the rest of the day showing you my little slice of heaven here in France, then, tomorrow afternoon, we need to get you on a flight to Alberta."


	19. Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

_* THIS CHAPTER PICKS UP THE CURRENT TIMELINE AFTER THE EVENTS IN CHAPTER 16 * _

Jack was on the far side of the living room at the table he used to tie his fly fishing lures. The prime season for mountain stream fly fishing was coming soon and he had a trip to his cabin in the mountains already planned for the next weekend. As he was about to draw the line tight on his latest masterpiece, he heard the phone in the kitchen ringing.

"Georgie! Could you get the phone, please?

"Georgie?"

He finally laid down the tools he was using on the lure to see why the phone had gone unanswered for the third ring.

"Georgie? Where the heck is that kid?" he wondered.

"Hi stranger!" said the familiar voice.

"Lisa! It sure is good to hear from you!" Jack said as he recognized the caller. "I am sorry that it took so long to pick up, I thought Georgie was in here, but I guess not!" he explained, searching through the kitchen window toward the barn. "How are you?"

"Oh, she is probably out in the barn with the horses, where she usually is, right?" she laughed." I am just fine, except I sure do miss my husband!" she answered playfully. "How is _he_ doing?"

"_He_ couldn't be much better, except for the missing his wife part. Got any idea when _she_ is coming back home?" he asked.

"I will be home on Wednesday afternoon. I just wanted to give you a fair warning," she teased. "We have some business to take care of, you know," she reminded her new husband of nearly three months.

"Yes, I remember. We will get everybody together and tell them about us being married. Are you sure about all of the rest of it, though? You haven't had any second thoughts with what we talked about?"

"Yes, I am sure, even more so after I had my visit with Amy. She has done so well with this trip, Jack. I hope you realize just how special of a gift your granddaughter has. She has impressed some very influential horse breeders over here in Europe. This could be something very big for her, _and_ Ty.

"I know how special her gift is, Lisa, but she can still find ways to amaze me, sometimes," the grandfather said proudly.

"How is Ty, by the way?" she asked. "Did the visit from Amy help? Does he feel better about the whole thing now?"

"I want to tell you again how much I appreciate what you did, having Amy come stay with you, then sending her home to see Ty like you did. I think the visit from her has made a big difference to him….to both of them. They will be alright now, I think."

"That's great news, Jack," she said. "What those two have is too good to let anything come between them. I'm glad it has all worked out."

"Yeah, just a few more weeks and then she can come on home. We _all_ miss her, too!" Jack said.

"I know you do. OK then, Wednesday afternoon…._don't forget about me!_"

"Yeah, like I would forget about my new bride!" Jack stated the obvious.

"Well, you know what they say about old cowboys? They'll do anything for their wives, as long as it doesn't come between them and their horse….or fishing!"

"Don't you worry, Lisa. All of my new fishing flies will be done long before you get here, or else it could have been a problem. How'd you know what I was doing, anyway?" he asked, amused.

She laughed. "A wife just knows these things, about her cowboy!"

* * *

"_But, I have to ask, Amy, what happened to you in Paris? We were enjoying ourselves so much, why did you run away?"_

* * *

Amy sat still, looking directly at the Prince, hoping to set the events of the last few weeks straight with him without causing irreparable damage to their working relationship.

"Ahmed, I just needed some time away to think about everything that has happened to me, since I left home. All of the success, all of the stress, and…." Amy hesitated to try to clarify her state of mind into words for her boss, friend, and apparent courter, to understand.

"That is not what I am talking about, Amy. Why did you run away from me when we started…"

"_Wait right there_!" she softly interrupted, raising her hand to halt his comment. "Ahmed, I have to admit that I let all of those….ummm, that situation, go too far, and I can see why you may have interpreted my willingness to go along with that trip to Paris to give you the wrong impression of what I was thinking….about you….and me."

"But Amy, there is no denying that you were enjoying yourself….enjoying my company as well!" he resisted.

"I was….enjoying _all_ of it, Ahmed, she admitted. "The people, the places, the beautiful horses, the attention, the feeling of _power_, I allowed _ALL_ of it to cause me to rethink my life as I knew it, up until then. I could never have imagined all of the opportunities….the possibilities that were available to someone like _me_. I have come to know you as a wonderful man, Ahmed. I have so much respect for who you have become and how important you will be to your country and its future. I admit that the new lifestyle I have experienced and all that comes with it caused me to question who I was and what I expected out of life…for a little while, and under different circumstances….it is possible…." she faded off in her thoughts, trying to come up with the proper words.

"Different circumstances? What different curcumstances, Amy? The Prince protested. "We are who we are. It is just a matter of letting ourselves live up to our potential, to do everything we are capable of. And you are capable of so much, Amy!"

"You need to understand something, Ahmed," she explained. "The life I had at Heartland was….is very special to me. All of my precious memories and people I love are there and although we have had more than our fair share of….challenges, Ty is someone that could never be replaced in my life, and how I choose to live it. I don't know how I could ever explain to anyone who hasn't experienced it for themselves what it means to be in love so deeply with someone. There is no amount of trying, no amount of wealth, and no amount of power that can make it happen. It just…_is_," Amy explained. She added, "What would it take for you to let the one you love the most follow a dream and leave for four months to travel around the world with someone who you feel might become a threat to your relationship? Could you do it?"

"No!...I could not! A man would be a fool to do such a thing!" the Prince exclaimed.

Amy pursed her lips, raised her eyebrows, and nodded, "See what I am talking about? There is nothing that can buy that kind of love, and it is mine already. Ty has proven to me, many times, that he loves me unconditionally, even if it hurts him, and I feel the same way about him."

"Well, then," the Prince conceded, "it seems to me that you have made up your mind."

"Yes, I have," Amy said with a look of determination that Ahmed had come to know when she set her mind to do something, "and I am sorry if I misrepresented my intentions with you. There were some things I didn't fully appreciate, until now, and I have to finish setting them straight again, when I get home."

"Where, then, does that leave us with the upcoming dates with the horses and the team?" Ahmed asked.

"I talked about it with Ty, and he agrees with me that we need to finish what we started, to get the team to the finals in France," she assured him. "I would like to do that, if we can find a way to work together without it causing any issues we can't work around."

"I promise you, Amy, I will make every effort to keep your work as comfortable as possible. I admire your tenacity with never giving up on the task at hand and for fighting for what you believe is right for you." Ahmed said.

"OK, then lets finish this!" she said decisively.


	20. Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

_(Just a filler chapter, of sorts, but it takes us to where we need to be for the story to move forward)_

A two day stopover in Egypt provided a deserved break for the riders, horses, and crew. Once the show in Spain was completed, Ahmed arranged for the team to have two days for themselves while he attended to official business in Cairo. The horses were stabled in a well equipped warehouse near the airport and most of the team was thrilled to have the opportunity to explore the Great Pyramid of Giza and nearby tombs.

The experience was somehow very humbling to Amy as she allowed her mind to daydream about the many generations who lived there and the stories they could tell about the place. Her imagination led her to wonder if there was once a young Egyptian girl who had fallen in love with a slave boy, just like she had fallen in love with her own ranch hand, and how the story may have played out over the ages. Maybe they, or their children, or their children after them proved to be the ones whose lives were written about thousands of years later in history lessons or romantic novels. It caused her to realize just how small each of us is in the grand scheme of things. It also made her realize that the decisions we make in our own time have an ongoing effect to those who follow us in future generations.

Now a seasoned world traveler, the Alberta ranchers' daughter knew that there would have been no other way for her to do all the things she had done, or to see all of the historic and beautiful places she had visited, other than this long trip away from home. Although she had ridden almost every kind of horse she could think of, she had only seen camels in a zoo. She never dreamed of having the chance to ride one, but that was one more thing that was now checked off her list of _'Things I want to do someday,' _and she had comical pictures of the incident with her in her favorite cowboy hat and boots to share with everyone when she got home. There were many amazing experiences that she would never forget, but the idea of sitting down to supper with her loved ones was starting to crowd into her thoughts more and more often.

* * *

Amy was glad to get the event in Spain and the awkward readjustment with Ahmed behind them after her brief trip to Alberta. There had been an uncomfortable give and take between the two since her return, but after she explained to him her intention of going back to Alberta, the situation was easing with Ahmed and the focus was fully aimed at the performance of the horses and their riders.

The team riders had placed well in Spain, but Ahmed finished sixth, obviously trying to force his hand with Zeus who was not dealing well with this style of riding. Afterward, Amy decided to have Kenza devote much more time working with Zeus and the Prince. The assistant trainer proved to be surprisingly efficient in getting him to come to terms with his setback and seemed to be gaining on the situation.

At the end of a long day working with the horses, the assistants cooled off the stallions and began to go through the daily routine to put each of them in their stalls. Kenza, as usual, was the last of the crew still working. She was tending to the chores needed to put the team up for the night and finally brushing Zeus when Amy brought the last horse into its stall. "I think the Prince is ready to ease off the attitude and spend more time working with his horse," she told her boss. "Now we can begin to make the progress we need them to have."

"That's great news, Kenza, good job! I knew I could count on you," Amy praised her.

"Amy, might I ask you a personal question? Kenza asked, looking unsure of the imposition.

"Of course, Kenza, ask anything you like."

"I need to know, is everything is alright between you and Ahmed?" she asked. "I know his feelings toward you have changed in some way, and I need to be sure of what you are feeling as well."

Amy sat down the brush in her hand and walked into the stall with Kenza and Zeus. "I suppose you know that Ahmed was….interested in more of a relationship between us?"

"Yes, anyone could see that. He was quite taken with you, and I can understand why he was," the girl said.

Amy was flattered, but confused, "Why do you say that, Kenza?"

"Because, growing up as a Prince, Ahmed was isolated from anyone who would resist any impulse he might have. No one dared to ever question his authority under any circumstances, except his father," she explained. "After his father died, he spent the following two years moving around the world looking for something, someone to replenish the loss he felt from not having someone so special in his life. But all he ever found was another business associate or another woman looking to attach themselves to his bank accounts and all of the prestige that came as a result of his social standing. There was no one that he could relate to."

She moved to sit on a stack of hay and patted with her hand suggesting for Amy to sit beside her.

"He became jaded and began to think there could be no one for him, until he went to Alberta and met the sassy cowgirl who called him a _'chauvinistic, sexist idiot' _and to _'cowboy up!"_

Amy was shocked at her friends' comments. "Sassy? And he told you that I called him an _idiot_?"

"_Chauvinistic, sexist idiot, _Yes, he did! Sassy, that was his word. And may I congratulate you upon your survival of the event!" trying to stifle a chuckle as she answered.

The moment came off as to humorous to resist and both of them began to laugh at the others expression. Kenza placed her hand on Amy's shoulder while trying to catch her breath and continued her revelation to her friend, and boss.

"That is why I knew as soon as he told me of his journey to Canada that he just might have met his match." She looked at Amy and needed to ask one more question. "I may already know the answer, but I have to ask, why did you reject him when he openly told you how he felt about you?"

"Geez, Kenza, how much did he tell you, huh?"

"A lot of things," she shrugged her shoulders. "He has known me since we were children."

"No kidding!" Amy bowed her head with her thoughts and sighed, "Well ….in answer to your question, I told him that I had come to respect him for who he is, and that is true, Kenza. He is a wonderful man. He just needs someone to share his life with him, someone he can trust….who appreciates how and why he is who he is, and to keep him in line." She looked up to see Kenza's eyes focused intently on her. "I sort of figured out the things you told me about how he grew up, and I can see why he believed he thought of me as he did, but I explained to him how I felt about the life I have back home in Alberta and how my life is going to be there. I let myself get carried away with all of the unbelievable things I was experiencing for the first time, things I never realized could be possible for someone like me, and he mistook that as my being interested in him….romantically speaking. And….I have to admit to you as well as to myself, if I had never met Ty, I may have had a different outlook on life right now," Amy blushed at admitting such a private part of her life to her friend.

"Ah, yes, Ty." The younger woman recollected. "He is a very cool guy, I think."

"Ty?" she asked. "Do you mean because of the way I talk about him is why you think he is cool?"

"I have spoken with him on the phone. I called to ask him for ideas of what to do for your birthday. We talked for…a very long time, actually, about all kinds of things," she smiled.

"Just what did he tell you? I'll goanna _kill_ him for that! And what about my birthday?" she giggled.

"If I may be so forward, Amy, if I were you, I would reconsider killing him," as she dug an elbow into her listeners ribs. "He obviously has a love for you that is….rare. I do not know of another man who would allow his fiancée to travel abroad for such a long time under these circumstances. I knew for sure that his love was a special one when he only ask one question, when I knew he must have had many. He only asked if you were happy, Amy, that is all he wanted to know. After I have talked to him myself, knowing how much he misses you, I would be getting myself home to show him that his faith was well rewarded!" she said with a twinkle in her eyes."

Amy nodded with a determined smile, "It won't be much longer, and then I plan on doing just that!"

"Now, my turn to ask a question," Amy decided. "So, what is this about my birthday?"

"Ahhh, about your birthday! I may as well explain that now," she said as she stood to reach for her briefcase sitting on a shelf just outside the stalls door.

Kenza told her that she had made a phone call to Ty and with Lou's help, he sent a piece of fabric from her room at the ranch to use as a color sample. The team decided she needed a Hijab and all of them had gotten her one as a gift to use during her visit to the UAE. They had it specially made to honor her cowgirl heritage and help her feel more at home during the stay. They picked out sophisticated silver trim fashioned into delicate ropes and included a pair of twenty four carat gold horseshoes adorned with seven diamonds each. Ty had ordered them custom made as a necklace for her birthday. Since she was going to be away from home for the big day he sent them as her birthday surprise along with a card explaining the meaning of the horseshoes. He hoped it would be a reminder that he missed her and to hurry home.

Kenza reached into the briefcase and took out a beautifully crafted lavender, silver, and golden scarf along with the card Ty had sent and presented it to her.

_These golden horseshoes are to honor the first love of your life, the horses. The seven diamonds on each of them represents the years we have known each other, and the years I have shared with the love of my life._

_Happy Birthday! _

_I miss you!_

_Hurry home._

_I love you,_

_Ty_


	21. Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

The flight into the desert was a pleasant one. An eerily serene, sandy landscape stretched as far as the eye could see to the south and to the north was the shimmering Persian Gulf. The Royal jet rolled to a stop in front of a private hangar reserved for the team to get the horses rerouted to their new home for the week. Heat radiated above the hot pavement as Amy looked toward a distant wavering mirage that was the main terminal of the Abu Dhabi airport. She had little time to get everyone settled and ready to compete in the newly added show. It would be the most important event that she had ever participated in, not for her exactly, but it would be pivotal to the future of the Prince. Everyone needed to perform at their best in front of the Princes' family, friends, and critics. Ahmed knew it would be the audition his people had been waiting for to show his progress as a legitimate heir to the throne and the strain showed in his expression as he climbed out of his seat and led the others to the steps off the plane.

"Oh, my, LORD!" Amy said as she gasped the scorching air into her lungs. "What is it, like 10 o'clock in the morning? _How hot is it_?"

The pilot, who was standing at the top of the steps, glanced over his shoulder and then turned back to say, "The reading on the thermometer in the cabin is at 41C, ambient, Miss Fleming."

Not wanting to miss the chance to return the old western saying Amy had dropped on him during the freezing trail ride at Heartland Ranch, Ahmed promptly said, "Cowboy up, Miracle Girl!"

Amy narrowed her eyes toward the Prince and mocked a smile, "Yeah? I'll tell you what you can do with _Cowb_ …..."

"_AAMMYY_… remember what I we talked about! You know, being…._nice_ while you are here?" Kenza admonished her and then chuckled out loud from behind her veil.

Even Ahmed had to laugh openly at the abbreviated comment along with everyone else within earshot. Apparently his head trainer could get a little testy dealing with this heat.

"Kenza, I see that you still have some work to do with our head trainer! What is it they say, you can take the cowgirl out of the country, but… "

"OK, ok, I get it!" Amy gave in, "But I never even considered the heat, or, _this_ kind of heat!" she realized. "We may have some issues getting the horses, and us, acclimated to the temperature here. We have spent all winter working in Canada, and it hasn't been all that warm during our time in Europe, but _this_ is something _else_!" She told her assistant trainer. "Kenza, let's make sure to leave our boys outside as little as possible, and when we get them to water, please, make sure they don't drink too much, too quickly, OK?"

"OK, Amy, I'm on it!" Kenza replied.

"I'm on it?" Ahmed shook his head with amusement. "You now have _everybody_ talking like cowboys! My people will not know what to think of us!"

It was the first laughter the team had enjoyed around the Prince in a while and it seemed to lighten the tension they were all feeling.

* * *

Amy was wearing the elegant lavender Hijab that all of the team had gotten her. Even with being the head strong and independent cowgirl that she was, it had touched Amy to know how much thought all of them had put into the gift, and when Kenza handed her the card from home, she had broken down and cried tears of love. Now she was thankful for the protection it offered to her from the overbearing desert sun. She would wear the scarf proudly everywhere she went during her stay in the UAE.

The venue for the upcoming competition was the nicest arena for jumping horses Amy had ever seen. Every detail was in order to accommodate the most elite horsemen of the world. '_Others could learn a thing or two from this place_,' she thought.

The head trainer and her assistant began brushing each of the stallions, looking for any injuries or problems resulting from transporting the animals. Once she was satisfied they were all in good shape she assigned Kenza to work with Zeus and she tasked herself with looking after the others. By the end of the day the horses were ready, as far as she could tell, and if Kenza continued to keep Ahmed calm and focused enough do his part, they should be at their best when it counted.

* * *

From street level, the towering hotel she was staying in rose up out of the desert like a chrome plated sculpture. Upon her return to her suite at the seven star hotel, Amy took the time to look out the window and take in the view, high enough to be looking out from the within the clouds, if there were any.

The Persian Gulf glistened as the intense orange sun was setting in the west and the city scape far below her was breathtaking. There was no mistaking the purpose of the hotel as being designed for the upper crust of world travelers. She was almost afraid to touch the furniture because it looked too perfect to actually use it. She tried to imagine what it was like for the craftsmen who placed the intricately designed tile on the floors, each little piece specially cut to make the fantastic mural come to life beneath her feet.

"You are one hellufa long way from Hudson, cowgirl!" she said to herself. "Mom, I wish you could have seen this!"

Being homesick was something that had come and gone, then come again. Staying busy kept her from thinking so much about missing everyone back home, but in the evenings, when she was alone, her thoughts always drifted back to the little town of Hudson. She wished Ty could be here to see all of this with her, wondering if he would be impressed by any of it.

'_Ten thirty pm is….half past noon at home_. _Great, he's at lunch!_'

"Hey, Amy!" Ty answered, swallowing a bite of his club sandwich.

"Did I catch you at a bad time?" she asked.

"It's always a good time when you call, don't you know that by now?" he replied.

"You wouldn't believe the view I am looking at right now, but, you know something? I really miss sharing this with you. As beautiful as this is, I just wish you were here with me to see it too."

"Someday, we will," he told her. "I promise we will see all of those places, and some new ones too."

"How far is it?" she asked him out of the blue.

Ty was confused by the question. "How far is what?"

She playfully asked, "Don't you know how far it is from where you are to me, right now, this very minute?"

"Eleven thousand six hundred twenty seven point two seven kilometers, give or take a couple of meters, depending on where you may be standing in the room!" he showed off a little to his fiancée.

"It won't be long now," she reminded him. "I also want to thank you for the birthday gift. The scarf was gorgeous and the horse shoes were….perfect! I have been wearing it when I go out, and it gets a lot of attention from everyone who sees it."

"It may not only be the scarf, Amy," he said. "It just might be because the most beautiful cowgirl they have ever seen is wearing it."

"You're pouring it on pretty thick there buster!"

"Is it working?" he asked.

"Yeah, it kind of is!" She giggled.

"So, have you blended in with the locals yet?" he teased.

"Oh, yeah, I've blended in alright," she chuckled, "I'm the one running from water fountain to water fountain. I can't begin to tell you how _hot_ it is over here. I'm losing weight just from sweating so much. A pale Canadian girl putting on _more_ clothes in this heat to protect herself from the sun? It just seems…backwards, somehow, but I would fry my skin in five minutes without it."

"Well, take care of yourself," he warned. "I want you in good shape when you get back home."

"Oh, really?" she chortled.

"Yeah… _really_!

* * *

Every seat was filled and the crowd in attendance was there to see their young Prince come home to show off his world class jumping team, and curious to witness the mystique of the true to life Alberta _'horse whisperer',_ which Amy preferred not to be called, outfitted in a modern version of their traditional dress, complete with her old reliable cowboy boots peeking out from underneath the hem. Amy Fleming had become a celebrity in her own right. The people were amazed to see how such a relatively small lady could command the respect of the high strung, 16 hand stallions and a Prince who only one year ago was not considered to be an earnest contender to a role in their country's leadership.

The arena was alive with excitement in anticipation of the days' events. Nothing was spared by the officials in putting on a first class show. The first round went smoothly and the Princes' Royal jumping team had all three to easily qualify for the second round, with all three of the first positions belonging to them. Zeus had responded well to Ahmed's commands through the difficult technical jumps and as a becoming a favorite to win.

After a brief rest, round two was begun with a modified course designed with higher and wider jumps. Amy was encouraging Kenza to take more of a lead role in helping Ahmed keep his composure and the team looking sharp. She was pleased with the results she saw and looked forward to having her assistant take more of the responsibility she had been carrying.

The early competitors in the round were setting a quick pace. Amy watched in awe as each horse and rider navigated the course with authority and the graceful leaps were more like dancing than a simple jump would have been. The first of the Royal Trio took to the course and topped the field with the best time so far. The next one did likewise, leaving Ahmed to finish up the competition with a chance to make it a clean sweep for his team in front of the home crowd.

Zeus began with a fast pace and the excitement was building by the stride. The pair was clearing the jumps with ease and the Prince remembered Amy's strategy she had pointed out to him about the order in which to take the jumps. It was something Ty showed her when she won the Fall Finale in Hudson at the age of fifteen. Ahmed was riding with confidence that Amy had not seen in him before, and felt the sense of accomplishment from all the hard work she and the others had put into the effort. The pair was executing the course flawlessly and the crowd had worked itself into an exhilarated chant, urging them on.

Ahmed pulled Zeus around to line up the last obstacle and all they needed to do at this point was make the distance and the win would be theirs. The big stallion was clear of the final pole and ready to head for the finish when suddenly, all of the grace and beauty of the performance turned into a frenzy of flailing hooves, flying clumps of dirt, and the Prince tumbling head over heels across the turf. The crowd nearly drew all of the air out of the arena as they collectively gasped in horror at the sight of the crashing horse and his rider. Kenza led the officials from the edge of the arena, racing to the aid of Ahmed as he lay in a heap against one of the hedges.

Amy ran as hard as her boots would carry her to the thrashing stallion, grabbing onto the plated leather strap above his nose to see if she could calm him down enough to keep him from hurting himself any worse than he already was, or one of the workers trying to help him. The sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach was all too familiar, remembering the jump that brought her own prized horse, Spartan, down in a thrashing mess at a local competition back home. For now, all she could do was to comfort the wounded animal and hope for the best for him and the man she knew as her friend laying only a few feet away.


	22. Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

The terrified white horse twisted on the soft dirt, pitching his head from side to side in an effort to stand. Amy had the noseband of his bridle in her left hand and with her right one she tugged her hijab loose from her chin to put it over Zeus' eyes to help keep his panic subdued. One of the other trainers rushed to her aid with a mild sedative for the animal to help her control the stallions' powerful thrashing movements. Before long the horse was laying still in the silence that had engulfed them. Once he was breathing easier, a brace was placed around his injured front leg while another of the vets checked the animal for further injuries. One of them gave Amy a nod and she slowly let Zeus roll upright to find a way to get his legs back under him. The horse, astonishingly able to maintain his weight, appeared to be spared any severe pain and that brought hope to his trainer and all of the veterinarians on site that the damage may not be as great as they had feared. Increasingly becoming recognized as a world class horse trainer, Amy continued to calm the large animal in a display of courage and tenderness, stroking gently along his neck and forehead while soothing him with gentle encouragement. The crowd quietly appreciated the special moment that it was.

Kenza was there at the Prince's side when the paramedics placed a spine board behind him, then slowly rolled him onto his back. She softly touched her fingertips to Ahmed's cheek as he regained a fuzzy consciousness, and she gulped in her first breath with relief when he opened his eyes after what seemed to be minutes of forgetting to inhale. His eyes began to focus and when they found his assistant trainer, his childhood friend, he gave her a quick wink, then slowly, as he began to unravel the realization of where he was and what had happened, asked her about Zeus.

She tried to give her Prince words of encouragement, "Amy has him standing, he seems better than I first thought."

"Get this thing off of me….please?" he weakly asked.

Kenza pleaded, "Wait! Just lie still for a moment. Let the doctors have a look at you first."

"No, I am fine!" said the fallen rider, "Just let me up….now!"

Tears were streaming down both of her cheeks as she put her hand firmly upon his chest and yelled to him, "No! You are going to lay your Royal ass back down until the physician says it is alright for you to move!" The girl said without thinking of the consequences of her dictating orders to His Royal Highness.

Everyone who heard the remark, meaning anyone present in the silent arena, snapped their heads around toward the girl they assumed would soon be under severe reprimand for such an outrageous display of disrespect to a Prince of her country.

Although the unfamiliar candor of his longtime friend took him completely by surprise, Ahmed settled back down to the soft ground and replied, "Well, since you put it that way! You cowgirls get quickly to the point, do you not?" he said, trying not to laugh at her determination. He then moved his hand around hers, which was still pinning him to the ground at his chest, and attempted to bargain with his captor, "I am not hurt….badly, at least. Let them check me to prove it….to you, and then will you let me up, _please_?"

Zeus heard his rider's voice and turned his head for the first time to see what had happened to him. He pulled Amy along as the tested his hooves at first, then slowly took the few steps forward and put his muzzle at Ahmed's forehead, wanting to nudge him to get up off the ground as he had done.

"Doctor, will you tell this woman to let me get up now?" he asked. I need to see about my horse."

The lead physician gave Kenza a smile and a nod to let her know that the patient seemed to be functioning as well as could be expected and that it would be alright to release her firm grip that was holding him down.

Ahmed reached his hand up to his horse to pat his jaw, then with the help of the doctors surrounding him, stood slowly to face Zeus and rub his hand up and down his neck.

The crowd began to stand and applaud in appreciation of the compassion their Prince and his staff had shown to his horse, relieved that the worst had apparently been avoided for both of them. Everyone who witnessed the accident now had a newly forged respect and understanding of the man Prince Ahmed had become.

It made for a long evening while getting Zeus secured to the special rigging in the trailer used for injured horses. He was then sent to Ahmed's preferred clinic where they would take all of the x-rays and precautions necessary to ensure that he was comfortable. Ahmed returned to his hotel suite in the chrome tower with Kenza at his side, watching his every movement, just to be sure. The Royal Physician and his head nurse would come to stay with him for the night and keep him monitored as a matter of safety.

Exhaustion began to creep into her entire body as Amy settled into the soft leather chair facing a wall of windows which overlooked the dazzling cityscape beneath her. She tried to organize her account of the happenings of the day, glancing toward the clock to see that it was nearly midnight.

'_What's going to happen now_?' she wondered. She felt sure that Zeus' jumping days were finished, but his survival would be crucial to the moral of the entire team, and now his entire country. She thought about what must be running through Ahmed's mind right now and if he would be able, or willing, to continue on to the finals in Lyon, France in three weeks. They could skip the show in Italy because of having enough wins and points to assure that they would be qualified for the finals, but that would not leave much time for him to heal and at the very least she would have to decide which horse in the stable would make a worthy replacement for him to ride. If they were to finish the season going for the championship, it would take a huge commitment from everyone on the team and she knew that she would probably need to call in someone to help.

'_Two o'clock in Calgary, Maybe…_!'

"Ty? Hey, it's me!"

"Well, how did it go in Abu Dhabi?" he asked.

"That is what I am calling about, Ty, you wouldn't believe it if you saw it for yourself. I know that I don't," she told him.

Amy began to share with her fiancé how the events of the day unfolded and the current state of everyone involved. The news was shocking for Ty and he knew the fear the horse must be dealing with as well as his owner, along with the challenge the love of his life was facing.

"Do they think they can do the surgery?' he asked.

"We won't know for at least a day or two, and then Ahmed will make the decision based on what the vet tells him, along with the advice of some trusted friends."

"Does he know about Spartan and what Scott was able to do for him?" asked Ty.

"He knows a little about it, but not all of the details. That is what I wanted to talk to you about….do you think you could come here for a little while, just to help me make my case if there is any resistance to making an effort to help Zeus?"

The wheels in his head started turning, thinking of ways to make her request possible. "I need to talk to my professors about taking time off right before end of year testing begins. They would have to work with me on making up the tests, somehow. Maybe I can sell them on the world wide exposure the school could receive through the press, you know, seeing as how I have a connection with the world famous horse trainer slash horse whisperer, Amy Fleming. That is, if you haven't forgotten who us _little people_ are back here in Alberta. We do still have a connection, don't we?" he teased.

"Let me tell you something….You make it over here as soon as you can, and I'll show you how connected you actually are!"


	23. Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

People were hurrying about the Abu Dhabi airport either coming or going in a chaotic mix of humanity. Amy always felt uneasy in large crowds like this one and she strained to stay focused on the packed corridor. The incoming flight from London was on time so she was expecting the target of her search to come along at any second.

Ty came through the security gate scanning to his left and right, trying to pick out the only possible familiar face in a sea of strangers. He was growing anxious at not being able to see his fiancée and when he turned around to his right for a better look into the crowded terminal a young lady covered from head to toe in a lavishly styled ivory and lavender full length dress, similar to most of the other young ladies he had seen, bumped into his left arm and dropped the bag she was carrying. Embarrassed, he turned to help her pick her things up off the floor and said, "Excuse me, please, I am so sorr…" Just then he noticed the scarf and his diamond imbedded golden horseshoes above a pair of mischievously twinkling blue eyes staring directly into him.

They both slowly stood, careful not to break the gaze, and then without saying another word Ty reached out to put his hands firmly behind her shoulders and drew her into the kind of kiss they both had been missing for so long. The embrace caused her heart to skip a beat. Her cheeks flushed with the passion that was overtaking her until sooner than she would have preferred, she pulled away to tell him, "We will have to behave here, in public, I mean. The locals might take offense to us acting like this in front of them."

"Well, then, let's get out of here," he replied, his intense green eyes smiling back to her.

Riding in the back of a limo was foreign enough to the soon to be veterinarian, but watching out the windows while navigating the desert scape of Abu Dhabi couldn't have been more unusual to Ty than if he had landed on the face of the moon. In fact, that is how he would have described it to someone who asked him what he thought about the lack of his familiar Rocky Mountains hovering in the distance or rolling hills of green prairie grass mixed with the brilliant yellow fields of canola.

"This is the weirdest thing I have ever seen!" he said to Amy.

"Shhhh, don't say things like that so loudly, you goof!" she scolded as she poked him in his ribs with a rigid index finger. "Some people may take that as an insult if they overheard you. They could arrest you for being….an obnoxious Canadian tourist," she laughed.

They arrived in front of the chrome skyscraper that Amy had been calling home for the last couple of weeks. As they stepped out of the limo Ty cranked his head upward and shielded his eyes to get a look at the size of the thing. "Where do you live again….all the way up there?"

"Yup, all the way up there. Not exactly the old barn loft, is it?" she pointed out the obvious, referring to the loft over the horses' stalls in her grandpa's barn where Ty had called his home for several years.

Soooo, what do you think?" she nervously asked, curious to know if he would be impressed by the way she had been living while away from home, or somehow resentful.

"Wow, I don't _believe_ this place! This is _insane_!" he said as he sat his bags down just inside the door of Amy's suite in the luxurious tower. "So, this is how it has been? All this time you have been traveling around the world, with limos taking you everywhere you go and staying in places like this?" He shuffled toward the glass wall to view of the city below, standing quietly as he tried to engage the idea of a lifestyle he couldn't have imagined an hour ago, for him _or_ his fiancée. The pictures Amy had sent to him were impressive, but seeing it with his own eyes took everything to a whole new level.

"No, not _just_ like this," she explained. "Most places in Europe were, older. They had a sense of history and old world charm. This is almost entirely modern, an example of how cities should be built in the future. But each of them was soooo beautiful, Ty. I wish you could have seen them too. Hey, com'on….let's get you settled in," she said with the smile she knew Ty could never say no to. "We have some catching up to do!"

Not so early the next morning Amy lazily stretched as she awoke and rolled to her side reaching for…'_Wha…Where did he go?_' She swung her feet over the side of the bed and slipped on her elegant new silk robe while she walked into the kitchen to find that Ty had ordered room service with all of her favorite breakfast selections. They were spread across the table and everything was set for them to enjoy, but she was still alone. "Ty?"

"I'm in here!" he answered.

She peeked through the door to the living area and found him already dressed and standing in front of the windows again, apparently lost in his thoughts and quietly studying the view.

"Whatcha doin'?" she asked, slipping her arms around his waist from behind.

"Just trying to get it into my head that I'm really here, with you, in this place." he said as he turned to face her, squeezing her tightly into his arms.

"I guess I'm just going to have to keep on trying to convince you then?" she giggled and nuzzled the side of her face against his chest.

"Yup, I guess so." He softly ran his fingers through her hair, tucking a loose strand behind her ear. He then cupped his palm across her cheek and kissed her forehead. "Let's eat!"

After the massive gourmet breakfast Amy called the limo to take them to the stables. They soon found her assistant trainer working with the horse they were in favor of using to team up with Ahmed for the Finals in two weeks.

Amy hooked her arm around her fiancés elbow and playfully drug him in tow, "Kenza, I want you to meet Ty!" she announced to the girl with broad smile.

A strikingly attractive brown eyed girl turned and enthusiastically smiled at the pair, "Ahhh, finally! I am pleased to see that you are not a figment of her imagination and really _do_ exist! And thank goodness, you are soooo much better looking than she had described you!"

Amy's mouth dropped wide open in denial to such statements, "Kenza!"

The surprisingly playful friend reached and offered her hand to Ty to shake, then reconsidered and just wrapped her arms around him in a hug. When she took a step back she began to explain, "Actually, Amy, we have met, on the telephone at least. We had a quite lengthy conversation a while ago. I have been very much looking forward to meeting Mr. Borden, or is it Dr. Borden now?"

"No, I'm not a doctor just yet," he explained. "I have to work that out when I get back home with some of my professors. This visit has turned into a bit of an assignment and I am going to get a grade from the paper I am required to write about Zeus' treatment and the results we get out of him, along with anything else I learn while I am here. Then, there are those tests I will have to take to finalize my grades."

"Thank you for coming to our aid when we needed you," the assistant trainer said. "I realize how much of an inconvenience this is to you, to come with short notice and at such a critical time at your school."

"Of course, I would do this….or anything else I could do to help, if Amy needs me."

Kenza grabbed Ty by his arm and looked around behind his shoulders toward her friend, mouthing an exaggerated 'WOW' while rolling her eyes toward the new arrival, and said, "Come! Let me show you the horse we hope will take us to the World Championship!"

She continued to lead Ty down the lengthy aisle of stone, redwood, and intricate wrought iron until they reached the stall of a handsome jet black stallion. Amy gathered his muzzle into her hand and began to pat his neck with the other. "This is Ghalib. It means conqueror, or victor. He is the boy who we all know has what it takes to be a star jumper, someday. We just hope he is ready, _right now_!"

Ty stepped into the stall with Amy and instinctively bent down to get a look at his ankles, lifting his hooves to get a look underneath, rubbing his palms up and down the joints and along his hocks to assess his bone structure and muscle mass. He then walked around the animal with his palm running along his withers, back, and quarters. After a few minutes of thinking to himself, "This is a strong, beautiful animal. He just might be everything you hope he is."

Ahmed leaned over the front of the stall to rub the horses' nose and overheard Ty's comment. "Yes, he is a beautiful animal, and he has a lot to live up to in a very short time! Good to see you Ty. How was your journey?"

Ty walked forward to shake the Princes' hand. "I'm good. So, how is Zeus? What is the latest on his condition?"

"Why don't you come with me, Ty?" Ahmed offered. "I am on my way to a meeting and I could drop you off at the clinic and introduce you to the staff and let you get acquainted with them this afternoon."

"That sounds good," he said as he leaned to kiss Amy. "See ya later."

Amy looked at Kenza, who was looking back at her with a puzzled look which mirrored her own. "What do you make of that?" she asked her assistant as the men walked out of view toward yet another waiting limo.

"I am not sure….maybe Ahmed just wants to make peace and show us that he is taking the high road with your fiancé?" Kenza reasoned.

Amy nodded her head and hoped, "Yeah, I'm sure that's it."


	24. Chapter 24

CHAPTER 25

For the second time in one day Ty was riding in the back of a new black limousine watching an unfamiliar landscape pass by his window.

"Tell me, Ty, what do you think of the desert?"

"I have seen the desert, in the Southwestern United States, at least. In fact, I lived down there for a while and worked on a ranch near a place called St. George, Utah. There are some beautiful places there," he recalled of the four months away from Amy and Heartland Ranch while on a soul searching journey of his own. "This is different, though. The sand dunes go on for what seems like forever. It gives me a weird feeling of isolation, or something like that. I haven't quite figured it out yet. And the _heat_….Amy wasn't kidding about that!"

"I hope that the desert will eventually grow on you during your stay," Ahmed replied. "If I may ask, what are you hoping to accomplish while you are here?"

"Do you mean, with the horses, or with Amy?" Ty needed to make sure of what the Prince was referring to before he answered.

"Oh, I am referring to the horses." Ahmed was surprised by Ty bringing up the issue so soon. He was still unsure of what Amy had told him, although with Ty's calm attitude, he assumed Amy had not told him all of the details of her visit to Paris.

"My veterinarians are some of the most qualified in the world, Ty. It will be an excellent opportunity for you to see how they have managed Zeus since our accident, and also what they are planning to do with his treatment."

"That's what I am hoping for, and thank you for allowing me the chance to see it for myself," Ty responded.

"Since you brought it up, Ty, what _do_ you plan to do about Amy and her new found popularity? She has managed to create a very solid reputation for herself during this tour, and she has impressed some very influential people. I feel confident that her business opportunities will grow quickly and her career as a trainer is getting ready to go to explode. Are you prepared for what that means to your relationship?"

"What do you mean, _am I prepared_?" Ty asked, wondering what Ahmed was implying with such a direct comment. "All I have ever wanted is to let her career take her wherever she wants it to go. It is one of the most important things in her life, it is what makes her happy, and I would never take that away from her."

"I appreciate that, Ty. I know how difficult it must have been for you to allow Amy the freedom to take this job and be so far away from home for this length of time. Most men would not have been so gracious under the circumstances. But you must realize that now, she will need to move beyond the mindset of a place like Heartland as a foundation for her business. She will be travelling around the world dealing with the best horses from the most influential breeders in the profession. How will you react when she realizes that she needs to move on to accomplish her new goals? Will you then attempt to hold her back, or will you allow her to make the decision to do as she wishes?"

Ty adjusted himself into the soft seat and silently watched the palm trees and shrouded men on the sidewalk as they passed by. "I will have to wait and see what Amy says she wants to do, then we will decide, together." As much as he would have loved to ram his fist into Ahmed's jaw at that moment, he had to admit to himself that the man was experienced with doing business on a worldwide platform and he had a point. The idea was not new to him, that maybe he was kidding himself if he thought he could fit into her new lifestyle, especially now that he had a firsthand look at how impressive the new lifestyle was. Change was coming for them, and with the demands of Amy's new prosperity looming close at hand, he knew there would soon be some difficult decisions to deal with.

The limo pulled into a parking lot of a building that looked more like a county club than a vet clinic. Ahmed exited the long black Mercedes and waited for Ty to follow as the driver opened the door for them to go inside. The lady sitting behind the desk looked pleasantly at the duo as they approached her and said, "Your Highness, the doctor is waiting for you and your guest in the hydrotherapy lab."

Ahmed thanked her and turned to Ty, motioning him through a pair of polished stainless doors leading to what looked like a series of spas. Zeus was in a rigging which held him still and nearly weightless in one of the whirlpools. He was being attended to by three doctors, one of which saw the two men and came up to greet them.

Ahmed made the introductions, "Dr. Anton Lorenzo, I would like for you to meet Amy's fiancé, Ty Borden. He is a fourth year veterinarian student from Alberta, Canada. He is also a friend of mine. He is familiar with Zeus' condition and has some experience with methods for the treatment of equine injuries like the one Zeus suffered."

"I am pleased to meet you, Ty. Prince Ahmed and Amy have spoken very favorably of you." The doctor was far more accepting of his visit than Ty had anticipated. "As a matter of fact," the doctor continued, "I must confess that I am also acquainted with one of your professors there at the University of Calgary, Dr. Hartman. We met at a surgical conference a few years back. He tells me that you are an exceptional student and have a natural ability to think outside the box, as they say, and that you are not afraid to be aggressive, if necessary. That is a quality that most doctors must try to learn, and some never acquire it."

"I am pleased to meet you as well, Dr. Lorenzo. It is a small world. Who would have thought I would meet someone that had a connection to my school all the way over here? I am looking forward to spending some time with you and your staff, and I must say that your facility is absolutely amazing!"

"Thank you, Ty. You will find that we have within these walls all of the most advanced technology available to us here at the clinic. Equine medical science is improving by the day and we intend to keep up as the knowledge constantly advances, if in fact we are not the ones developing the technology ourselves!" the doctor proudly proclaimed.

Ahmed excused himself as being late for his meeting and disappeared through the stainless door. Dr. Lorenzo took Ty down to the water workout tank and began to introduce him to the others who were working on the Prince's horse.

The afternoon flew by while Ty continued to meet new members of the staff and listen as they each told him a little about their job and the equipment they were using. Before he knew it, evening had set in and it was already time to call it a day. A voice called from a speaker in the wall to tell him that he should report to the reception area. His driver had arrived to take him back to the stables where Amy was still busy with the horses.

It wasn't until after the car was moving that he settled back to reflect on his surprisingly productive day. The beautiful clinic and working with highly qualified doctors, along with ultimate access to machinery of the latest technology, was to him like being a kid in a candy store without any limit on what he could eat.

Ahmed's words which he had spoken on the way to the clinic were put in the back of Ty's mind for the few hours he had been occupied with the excitement of the advanced facility, but now those thoughts were hauntingly coming back to him. He knew there would need to be a conversation with the woman he loved and had been planning his future with, and once again he could possibly be faced with letting his fiancée go, maybe this time, forever.

Amy was in a stall brushing one of the teams horses while Kenza worked to get Ghalib settled for the night.

"How was your day?" she narrowed her eyes, studying his facial expression as she asked. "What did you think about the clinic, huh?" she smiled, knowing that his mind would be blown away with all the doctor's hi-tech gadgets and gismos.

"It was unbelievable to see that kind of equipment in one place. It was amazing! The university should be half as well equipped as that clinic is. They treated me like it wasn't a pain in the ass for them to show me around and tend to my curiosity all day long. And, get this! Turns out that the doctor I spent the day with is an old friend of Dr. Hartman's, my favorite professor at UC. I will have some great things to put in my assignment for him. I need to be at the clinic bright and early tomorrow to spend the day with them again. They offered to let me assist in a procedure with Zeus and learn about one of the new experimental methods used to treat his leg."

"Well, it sounds like you hit the medical geek jackpot!" Amy teased with a quick kiss on the end of his nose. "And…I am really thrilled that things went so well for you today!"

Kenza finished her chores with Ghalib and walked over to the couple to join in the conversation. The girls couldn't hold back their curiosity any longer and Kenza nudged her friend with a shoulder to coax her into asking, "Soooo, how was the ride to the clinic this morning? Did you have a nice visit with Ahmed?"

Ty looked at the two of them, both trying to appear innocent of any collaboration to interrogate him, but he knew something was up.

"Humm, funny you should ask. Let's just say that we had a very interesting conversation….about things," he said, leaving it at that while turning toward the car which was still waiting outside. "Are you finished for the night?" he asked without looking back.

"Yeah….hold on a minute. Will you wait for me, please!" Amy pleaded as she looked at Kenza who sported the 'Uh oh!' look that always foretold some sort of trouble.

The drive to the tower was mostly silent, but she wanted to at least try to get him to reveal something about what was said between the two men. "What happened?" she softly asked. "What did Ahmed say or do to upset you?" Amy knew when her best friend and love of her life was withdrawing from any conversation and that she might as well back off and let him decide when it was time to open up to her. He would do it when he was ready, and probably not a minute sooner. Her problem was that she was unsure of how far Ahmed would go with telling Ty about the things she had put off telling him herself. Although she felt reasonably secure in the way she finished the situation in Paris, she knew that Ty might need a while to process the information. She hoped to wait until they were home in Hudson. That would allow them the space they needed to sort the whole mess out and put it behind them without making a spectacle of themselves in a strange place, in front of all her new friends. However, it felt to her like the time was now, or at least as soon as Ty was ready.


	25. Chapter 25

CHAPTER 26

For the third night in a row Amy woke up alone at 1:00am. She rolled off the bed to slip on her robe and went to the refrigerator to get a glass of water. After finding her misplaced personal veterinarian, she leaned forward and rested her elbows on the marble topped island in the kitchen while studying Ty sitting on the sofa with his computer, books, and various papers strewn all around him. He was busy creating a rough draft of what Ty explained to her as a 'take-home final examination' that he was to write for Dr. Hartman and was bursting with ideas from the clinic to include in the subject matter. Although more involved than his final exams would have been, it was offered to him by his professors as a trade for his leaving at the normal time of testing at the end of the term. She watched him shuffle through the mound of references for about five minutes before he looked up and vacantly stared off through the windows into the dark abyss in the direction of the Persian Gulf.

It was worrying her that he had not breathed a word about the conversation she started with him at the stables three nights ago. Kenza was just as worried and asked every day if there was any news, because she hadn't gotten anywhere with asking the Prince either.

The drinking glass lightly clinked on the marble countertop when she sat it down and shuffled across the tile floor to lean over the back of the sofa behind her restless fiancé. He did not seem to notice that she was anywhere near him, so she lightly touched his shoulder to avoid alarming him.

"Hey, how's it going? It looks like you have all kinds of things to tell your professor about the clinic."

"Yeah, more than I know how to describe, actually," he pondered. "The things that these doctors are doing in the clinic over here are amazing. It's like one of them says, _'I have a crazy idea that if we try such and such that it could cause this or that to react like so and so'_, and if it sounds like a good idea, they just develop a plan and try it, no matter what the cost in time or money. They have all the equipment in the medical field at their disposal to help them with their procedures."

"Well, Ty, you should be proud that they considered you a worthy student to share those things with. I know that I am. Not just _everybody_ gets to see in person what they do," she reminded him.

"Why do I have an idea that there is more to that story?" Ty speculated. "What part did _you_ play in all of this?"

Amy was surprised with his quick detection of her scheme. "OK….Dr. Lorenzo and I hit it off pretty well right from the start," she admitted to him. She curled her fingers and began to gently draw her nails through the hair around his temples as she spoke, "He asked where I was from, and when I told him that my home was not far from Calgary, he made the connection to UC and Dr. Hartman. Then I told him about you, that you were one of his students, so Dr. Lorenzo called your Professor Hartman who told him_ how absolutely brilliant you are_!" Reaching over to kiss him on the back of his head, she went on, "One thing led to another, and we all hatched the idea to get you over here with us, or here with me, I would prefer to think! Speaking of which….I haven't seen much of you lately. I am missing you, and you are right here with me. We need to fix that, don't you think?"

When he didn't answer she twisted around to see the side of his face and discovered he had fallen fast asleep. She walked around in front of him and took his hand in hers to pull the exhausted student from his makeshift office and said, "Com'on Doc, We need to get some rest. Let's get you to bed for at least a few hours' sleep before we have to go to work. After work this evening, I want some alone time with my guy, what do you say?"

"Sounds good to me!" he said as he tried to revive himself. "A quiet evening is what we both need right now."

* * *

For the first time since he arrived in Abu Dhabi, Ty spent the entire next day working with Amy and Kenza at the stables. The horses were run through a favorite preparation routine that Amy had worked out for the jumpers and Ty was amazed at how gracefully the world class stallions navigated the warm up course. He observed the team vets as they performed their daily maintenance of each of the patients and for the most part understood and agreed with the methods they were using.

Ty did have one suggestion that he brought up to Amy. "Don't you think the riders need to be more involved with the day to day workouts with their partners?" he asked. "It isn't like they are driving a car, _just jump on, turn on a key, and make it go_. Those horses need to feel like they are working with a trusted friend, not just doing a job for a guy that wants to ride him once in a while."

"I know, I agree completely," she acknowledged, "but I haven't been able to get them to come here to the stables and work with me as much as I would like, especially now that we are closer to their homes and families. They want to spend time with their loved ones who they haven't seen in months. You know how that feels, right?"

He walked up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders while making sure she was looking into his attentive green eyes, "Yes, I _do_ know how they feel. But if you want to win this championship, you need to convince Ahmed to leave for France a few days early and get the team back to work without all the distractions."

Amy considered the suggestion and then decided, "I will tell him your idea tomorrow morning, first thing."

"You should leave out the part that I brought it up. You will have a better chance of selling the concept to him if you leave me out of it."

There is was, again, evidence of some sort of hostility between her boss and her fiancé. "Are you ever going to tell me what happened with you and Ahmed?" she whispered.

Ty turned away without comment, just like the times before, and went back to work with one of the horses.

* * *

Ahmed accepted what he thought was Amy's good idea to leave for France earlier than planned which caused Ty to rearrange his schedule for one last afternoon working at the clinic. He was allowed to participate in yet another advanced surgical procedure on a prized stallion's injured leg. The eager student had spent all but the last two days of the past week working with Dr. Lorenzo and his staff. The two men were gaining a solid trust for each other and had established a mutual friendship during Ty's temporary apprenticeship.

After they were finished in the operating room, Dr. Lorenzo asked his new friend to come into his office before he left the clinic. The Dr. sat behind his desk and motioned for Ty to take the comfortable executive chair in front of him and said, "Ty, it has been a pleasure to have you here studying with us. I wish more young medical students had your work ethic and determination to succeed."

"Thank you, Dr. Lorenzo, for the opportunity. I could never have hoped for a more productive visit to your facility," the younger man said. "I want you to know how much I appreciate the cooperation you and all of your staff here at the clinic has shown me. I will never forget my time here with all of you."

"Well, Ty, that is what I wanted to discuss with you. What I am about to tell you is confidential, OK?"

"I understand, what is on your mind?" Ty wondered.

"We are about to begin construction on a similar clinic to this one in North America. We will be working in conjunction with your professor, Dr. Hartman, at the University in Calgary. We will have the best people we can find on staff there, and I, along with your good professor, think you would be an excellent candidate for a position there with us. What do you think, Ty?"

Staggered by the statement, Ty's voice nearly failed him when he tried to respond to the doctors' offer. "Th…that would be amazing, Dr. Lorenzo! I can't begin to tell you how much it means to me to have you think of me that way. I would be honored to practice in a place like this, and have it in my own back yard!"

"That is wonderful, Ty. We will be in contact with Dr. Hartman and he will fill you in with details as they progress over the next few months."

* * *

Riding in the back of the limo to meet Amy at the stables was becoming more familiar to the veterinarian protégé, _"I could get used to this!"_ he thought. Ty's head was spinning from the unexpected possibilities that had suddenly been proposed to him. He was aware that his concept of a productive practice at the clinic in Hudson had just been ratcheted up several notches, and of how his life and that of his horse crazy fiancée would be forever changed with an opportunity like this one. It was his chance to quickly pull himself a few more rungs up the ladder that just a short time ago seemed out of reach to him. It would also mean that he could finally take on his share of the financial load between him and Amy that she had been typically carrying by herself.


	26. Chapter 26

CHAPTER 27

The heavy door of Amy's suite swung open for them to pass through and once inside she pushed it shut with the toe of her boot.

"I would have thought by now that some of this high class living would have rubbed off on you, but I see that a cowgirl still lives here!" he teased at her girlish entrance into the luxurious suite.

Grabbing Ty by the hand, she dragged him across the main living area in front of the sofa, then using her free hand, pushed him down into the soft seat and hopped astride of him like she did when she rode Spartan bareback. "OK, Bub, let's start this again!" she threatened through the devilish smile that could make him do absolutely anything she asked. "What's the deal with you this afternoon, huh?"

"I really wish I could tell you, but, _Ahhhhhhhh_!" he recoiled when she ferociously dug her fingernails into his ribs and began to tickle them.

"Don't make me get serious! You don't want that, trust me!" she threatened.

They scuffled for a half a minute in the soft leather of the sofa, and then Amy squealed as they fell with a thump into the thick area rug in front of them. They were a ball of flaying legs, tangled arms, and tousled hair struggling for superiority in the battle over his withheld secret. Both of them wrestled until they could not catch the breath they needed to fuel their hysterical laughter and had to stop recuperate. They lay beside each other on the floor gasping for air with both of them grinning at the reminder of the way they solved almost all disagreements in the early days of their relationship.

"Do ya really wanna know that badly?" Ty asked.

"Don't make me start again….I will, you know," she threatened.

"Yeah, I know you will!"

Ty spent the next fifteen minutes explaining to the girl he loved, who swore not to send the secret any farther than the two of them, all of the details of his conversation with Dr. Lorenzo a few hours before. Her glittering blue eyes reflected the excitement from sharing his personal moment, delighted with the overdue break that Ty had patiently waited on for so long. Amy's arms wrapped tightly around his neck pulling her tightly into his chest, gathering his hair into her fingers to draw his lips onto her own. They lost themselves in the rare, equally gratifying moment since Amy's journey began over three months ago, and lingered entwined on the rug with neither of them wanting to let go.

"Oh, Sweetheart, I am so _proud_ of you!" said the doting and soon to be wife. "You deserve this, Ty. I admire what you have managed to accomplish after coming into my life as that _bratty delinquent boy_ all those years ago," she sincerely commented while placing her hand adoringly on his chest. "You've pretty much done it out of pure determination and the will to make a better life for us. You are a good and decent man," she added, "and you are _way_ too damn stubborn to let anything hold you back!"

"_Too persistent_," he corrected her. "After I become a doctor, _finally_, I will be persistent, not stubborn. Persistent comes with the big fat diploma hanging on my wall, and stubborn is for a stable hand who used to live in the barn loft….and look who's the _sweetheart_ now!" he teased.

Amy poked him in the chest with her finger, "You will always be the boy in the loft to me, no matter how many diplomas you hang on your wall," she said as she pulled him closer. "I still love the boy in the loft, and I always will."

Amy clambered up off the floor and sat back into her usual place on the sofa. "I need to talk to you about something, Ty," his suddenly anxious lover told him. She patted a spot on the cushion and pulled him up to sit beside her. "You know, this opens up so many new possibilities for us. We have a lot of things to work out, and that's a good thing, I think," she said, "but I need to make sure that we go into the rest of our new lives together with total honesty, nothing held back. I want you to promise me that you will sit right here with me and let us get everything squared away, no matter how upset you get. I have some things I need to say to you, but first I really do wish you would tell me what happened with Ahmed the first day he took you to the clinic."

After letting his head drop into the backrest behind his head, he said, "OK, now you are worrying me, but I don't have anywhere I can go here in Abu Dhabi anyways," he conceded. "So, you want to know what the Prince said to me?"

She nodded to him, "Yes, I do."

"OK….," Ty paused take a deep breath and to collect his thoughts. "He asked me if I was prepared for the changes that would be happening between you and me, like when all of the new business opportunities coming to you as a result of your success on this trip with him start to take off. He told me that you had too much potential to be tied down to some little farm in Alberta, and asked me if I would be man enough to let you go when you decided that you needed to leave me behind to pursue your career as a world class horse trainer, and he knew that is what you really want to do."

"But, Ty, that's…." she began to protest, but her comment was cut short when he held up his hand to interrupt.

Then he admitted, "Truth be told, I have always had the feeling it could happen that way, and that I am one keeping you from going as far as you want to go with your career. I know your work has made you so happy lately, but it was like a slap in the face to hear someone say those things out loud and wake me up from this dream I have been living that you could be satisfied with a life like we have been talking about going forward with."

Amy's heart broke at his revelation, regretting that Ahmed would say those things to the man she loved and respected most, and then she carefully began to finish her half of the proposition, "I admit to things happening so fast that I haven't had time to process it all. There may well be some good job offers to come out of the new business contacts I have made, but they won't change my mind about where I want to live and who I want to be in my life."

She continued, "I think you know that I may have left out some details about what happened in Paris between me and Ahmed?" she asked. She took Ty's hand and squeezed it, trying to make him understand that she was here with him and holding on for dear life. "I was caught up in all of the excitement from everything that was happening at the time. We were travelling in jets and helicopters, riding in limos everywhere we went, eating at the best restaurants in Europe, going first class with anything we did. But, most of all, I was overwhelmed by the positive reaction from the press and some of the best breeders and trainers in the world. Ahmed made sure that I got all of the credit when we were successful, and I have since found out that some of the reporters were paid by certain supporters in his country to print some of the things you saw in those gossip papers. It was meant to stir up his international popularity. That would help him with the people who are going to decide when, or if, he will ever get a chance to take up where his father left off."

Ty stared ahead vacantly as if standing in front of a firing squad, waiting for someone to pull the trigger. Amy once again made sure to pull his hand closer to her and tightened her grip.

"You know most of this, but what I neglected to tell you was that the night I left Paris to stay with Lisa for a couple of days, to get everything sorted out in my head, Ahmed invited me to a dinner party with a group of important breeders who were offering their best yearlings for sale."

She paused, sighing, then continued, "We were staying in this amazing hotel and my room had an unbelievable view just across the river from the Eiffel Tower. Ahmed had a designer dress from Paris with some fancy jewelry and shoes sent to me in my room for me to wear, complete with a seamstress to make the dress fit perfectly, and I really did feel like, I don't know…."

"_A Princess_…, "Ty broke in, "I know, I heard that from everybody back home for three months, _every damn day that you were gone_."

She started to fear the worst in that Ty was reaching the limit of his tolerance to unpleasant news and would soon begin to shut her out.

"Ty, you promised." She reminded him calmly, using her piercing blue eyes to persuade him to take a breath and refocus.

"It was just me with him and all of the people in the party. No one else from the team was with us. We all left the restaurant and gathered at a nice stable outside of Paris. Ahmed allowed me to pick the yearlings out myself, six of best I have ever seen. I managed to spend two million dollars of his money right there in one evening! I was introduced to some of the most influential horsemen and women in the world that night. It was the most empowering feeling for me to be taken seriously by people like them. The evening went so well that I just felt like I was on top of the world. All of those people _knew my name_! The problem was that Ahmed thought I was accepting everything that happened as the start of a new relationship…..with him and me."

She stopped again to make sure to get Ty's attention and calm him before she continued. "When we got to my door back at the hotel, we talked about the evening and how well it had gone, and the next thing I knew, he kissed me."

Ty slid himself to the front of his seat, threatening to get up and walk away, but she grabbed him tightly around his elbow and refused to let go. He would either have to force his move to get free from her grasp, or settle back into his seat and listen to the rest of the explanation.

"Just hold on and let me finish, _please_!" she calmly pleaded.

He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and said, "OK, let's get this over with."

"You need to know that nothing happened, Ty, at least not what you are thinking. The kiss surprised me at first, and when I realized what had happened, I opened my door and went inside…._alone_. You have to believe me, Ty. If you have ever trusted me to tell you the truth, you need to trust me now. That was the end of it. A few minutes after I got in my room, I was on the balcony trying to gather my senses when Lisa called, out of the blue! One of her friends was at the stables and called Lisa to tell her that we had met. She somehow knew I was in over my head, and we talked for a while. She offered to send her driver to pick me up and within an hour and a half I was at her villa. We spent two days talking about….everything, mostly about you and me how we were going to make our lives work together. She showed me around her place, and then she got me that flight to come back home, _to you_." Amy waited to see if he was still with her, and then reached to pull his chin around to make him look directly into her eyes. "I love _you_, Ty Borden. I want to share my life with you and I want my kids to have a father like I know you will be to them. I want our biggest fights to be about you spoiling my children too much and me not putting up with it. I have loved you for so long that I can't imagine my future without you."

She placed her fingers softly on his cheek and confided to him, "_You_ are the man in my fairytale, the mysterious boy who lived in my grandpa's loft who I used to dream about marrying someday, and still do. You are the hero who came to save me when I was the one hurting from all the terrible things that had happened to me just before you came to live with us. It's almost like my mother planned it that way, to have someone to take care of me after she was gone."

Amy studied her lover's misty green eyes, the windows to everything he ever wanted to say to her, or to hide from her, looking for some kind of clue to whether or not he would accept her explanation.

"I am glad you told me these things, Amy, I needed to hear you say them, because I had a feeling there was more to all of this than you were telling me. But, what about the Prince? Where do you stand with him now?"

"He knows my intentions to go back to Alberta and be with my family, with you. He really isn't that bad of a guy, Ty. I think his attraction to me was mostly because I didn't put up with his royal crap and that got his attention."

She then offered a reprieve, "Just so you know, Kenza has known Ahmed since they were kids. They have been best friends since they were very young, but the difference in their social standing made it almost impossible back then for them to be more than that to each other. She loves him very much, and I know he cares for her, so I have been helping her along with Ahmed, trying to get him to look at her though different eyes, and I think it is working."

Before she had time to react, Ty pulled her down beside him on the sofa and wrapped his arms around the small of her back. "You have always been full of surprises, probably always will be, but please tell me that there is nothing more, no more surprises like this one left to tell," he said.

"That about covers it….no more surprises."

"Let's get to bed." Amy suggested, "We have a long day tomorrow. You haven't seen what it is like to move this circus from country to country."

He reminded her, "But….it isn't even ten o'clock yet."

She replied with her naughtily determined look, "Well, I have a feeling it will take us a while to get to sleep!"


	27. Chapter 27

CHAPTER 28

On their second day at the temporary stables in Lyon, France, Ahmed's crew were pacing themselves through the practice jumps Amy had set up for them. It was an easy course to run through, designed to help everyone recover from the journey and get back on track after the extended stay in Abu Dhabi. The anxious head trainer was working closely with Kenza and the Prince, getting Ghalib ready for his World Cup debut knowing it would also be her last event before going back to her home in Canada. The young horse was showing a case of jitters with all the movement and unfamiliar surroundings, leading Amy to show Kenza some of her tried and true methods for calming the high strung animal.

Ty was working with the other vets who looked after the other riders and their stallions. The general consensus was that all the horses had made the trip in good shape and the regular training routine could start the following day.

* * *

Amy and Ty were in the rear of a white Mercedes limousine riding through a scenic valley alongside of a river as it found its way between the rolling hills. Both of them were silently taking in the passing views of old stone homes with their carefully crafted stone fences which they figured had been there for hundreds of years. Most of the lush green fields contained small herds of cows which supplied the local residents with milk. The drive ended too soon for their liking, but they were still feeling the effects of moving such a large group of equipment, horses, and people and getting the whole operation up and running in a new city. They were both exhausted and ready to relax.

All of the team was staying in a rustic medieval castle outside of the city and once the two of them were inside the room they kicked off their shoes, got some drinks out of the refrigerator, and each took a seat on the balcony overlooking the river.

Ty glanced over to his partner in relaxation mode and announced, "I have a little surprise for you!"

"Oh, yeah, what's that?"

"Since I see them getting out of their cab right now, I can tell you that your Grandpa and Lisa are here and will be staying in the hotel until after the show on Sunday."

"You're kidding? Grandpa is here, in France?"

"Yup, he will be here in a few minutes, that is, if he doesn't punch the little French dude out behind the reception desk. I think the guy has a bit of an attitude, so we'll just have to see if Jack has any patience left after all of the travelling he has done in the last couple of days," Ty mused.

"Oh, gosh, Ty, why couldn't you have warned me sooner….I'm a mess!" she worried.

"Amy, those two have seen you in covered in dirt and horse crap, even seen you in your pajamas, so I don't think you have much to worry about tonight."

The phone rang beside the bed and Amy jumped out of her chair to catch it on the third ring. "Lisa? Oh my gosh, I can't believe you and Grandpa are here! Oh…OK, we will be down in one minute! No….just _hold on_, we're on our way!"

"What was that about?" he asked.

"You remember what you said about Grandpa and the little dude?" she reminded him.

"_Nooo_!" he said in amusement. "Did he hit him?"

"Not yet, but we had better get down there in a hurry. I don't think it's going very well at check in!"

After the two rescuers saved the day between 'little dude' and Grandpa Jack, they were all gathered in the older couple's room to help them get their belongings situated.

"Well, that was certainly the most eventful arrival I have had at a hotel since….ever!" Lisa said as she laughed out loud and slapped Jack on his shoulder, causing the near aggressor to half scowl, half grin under his cowboy mustache and the younger couple to choke their own laugher, unsure of their well-being if they were to let it out.

"Have you had dinner?" Lisa asked.

"No, we just got back to the room ourselves," Amy answered. "Ty gave me all of two seconds warning that we were having company, so I still smell like….well, you know!"

Lisa proposed, "OK, Amy, why don't we all freshen up a bit and we can meet in an hour to see if that quaint little café on the lower floor has food as good as the aroma suggests it is."

* * *

All of the Canadian party of four was stuffed from the amazing seven course meal, which even Jack enjoyed without conflict. Talk drifted between Amys' progress with the new horse Ahmed would be competing with in the upcoming World Cup Finals to catching up with life at home on the ranch.

"Well, Amy," asked Lisa, "your journey is almost over. Was it the adventure you thought it would be?"

"Oh, Lisa, this has been an _amazing _time! There is so much to see and do out here in the rest of the world that I would never have realized had I not come on this trip," she spoke in wonder. "It has been the time of my life!"

"Soooo, if the opportunity comes up again, will you take it?" the older woman asked.

"Yeah, I would! I wouldn't think twice!"

Jack shifted a quick look at his former ranch hand to see how well the comment went over with him, and just as he figured, Ty stifled a flinch, as though Amy had just struck him on the cheek.

"Amy, Ty, your grandfather and I have some news, and afterward, I have a proposition for you," Lisa announced. She looked toward Jack and prompted, "Do you want to tell them, or shall I?"

"Tell us….what?" Amy asked.

Jack shyly explained, "Amy, what she is trying to tell you two is that Lisa and I finally went and did it….we got married….a while back, and…."

"What? When?...How?" asked his stunned granddaughter.

"We actually had the ceremony at the Dude Ranch with, of all people, your Dad as our best man!" said the proudly smiling bride.

The story enthusiastically unfolded between the newlyweds and the younger couple which led to Ty hoisting his glass and proposing a toast to the honeymooners.

"Congratulations to two of the finest people I have ever met. May all of your days, and _nights_, be filled with love and happiness," he winked to Jack, causing him to blush in front of everyone and the table erupted with laughter all around.

"Now that the big news is out of the way," Lisa continued, "I want to offer a business proposition to you, Amy. "Since I am an old married lady now," glancing victoriously toward Jack, "I will be retiring from full time work at Fairfield Stables and cutting back on my travelling all over the world to buy and sell my horses. I think you would be the most likely one to keep the place up and running as it should be, Amy. I would like for you to take over the operations of my day to day business at Fairfield. If you are interested, I can show you the ropes, so to speak, and in a year or so, I can step back and let you have a go at it. What do you think?"

Amy covered her mouth in awe, trying to imagine the huge responsibility and wondering if she could handle the challenge. "I don't know, Lisa, if I can run a business the size of yours. What would I have to do?"

"There will be plenty of time to explain all of that later. And, Amy, you have been scheduling work with horses and ranch hands since you were fifteen years old. Let's just say that if you enjoyed this tour, travelling from town to town and seeing all of the best places in Europe, then I think you would really enjoy following up with what I have been doing for a living for the last twenty years. Not to mention the fact that the position can be very lucrative for you."

"_YES_, I would love to work with you, Lisa, that is an unbelievable offer, _THANK YOU_!

No one besides Jack noticed that Ty never spoke another word during the remainder of the dinner. The two girls excused themselves to go on up to the older couples room and discuss the proposition in more detail, leaving Ty with the man who took him in as a troubled teenager and was mostly responsible for helping him grow into the man he had become. Since Ty was not offering anything for conversation, Jack began by asking, "So Ty, you have been over here for a few weeks now, what do you think about the jet set life that those girls are talking about?"

"It has its good parts, I guess, but I don't think it would be the kind of life I would want to live," he pondered. "I can understand the excitement of seeing new and amazing places, but I can't figure out how you would ever settle down and make a decent life for yourself. You certainly couldn't think about having kids or a home life while you were living like that!" The thoughts kept piling up in his mind, and each one of them weighed him down with another negative reaction. "Can I ask you something, Jack?"

"Shoot!"

"How do you do it? I mean when Lisa is gone for months at a time like she is?" the worried man asked. "I knew it was rough on you, but I had no idea….until now. I came over here because Amy asked me to, but I really wanted to see what all of the fuss was about. I wanted to see what kind of life she has been living for three months and if it had changed her in any way."

"What have you decided? Do you think Amy has changed all that much? And, if so, what do you think about what you found when you got over here?"

"I don't know Jack, one minute I think everything is going to be OK, then, like when she just now said she would do this trip again in a second, I have to admit that hit me by surprise. I'm not going to lie to you, Jack, I was hoping all of this would be over by now."

"Well, just don't do anything drastic, just stay cool and everything will work out fine," Jack wisely stated.

Ty looked into the glass he was holding and tipped it up, quickly draining the contents. "I think I'm goanna turn in Jack. Just kick Amy out and send her back to her room if they are still going on about all of the horsey stuff."

"Get some sleep. Everything is going to be just fine, Ty," he said as he patted the shoulder of man he always wished could have been his son.

* * *

The events of the weekend were dramatic and left everyone on the team with mixed feelings. One member of the Royal team managed a runner up spot in the final standings, leaving Ahmed with fourth place. The storybook outcome of an outright win with a first time horse and injured rider did not materialize, but the worldwide publicity and congratulations sent from the tightly-knit community of horsemen from all over the world was a worthy reward to the Prince for a great effort and a job well done in the tough season of competition.

After the event finished winding down, Amy went to the stables to pick up the last of her things and found Kenza brushing Ghalib in crossties beside his stall. "Hey, I guess this is it for me, and I wanted to tell you before I leave how much of a pleasure it has been for me to work with you. Not only that, but you have gone out of your way to make me feel more at ease while I was so far away from my family. Amy reached into a pocket on her jacket and found a small box which she handed over to her former assistant trainer. When she opened it, Kenza's eyes began to pool with tears and she hugged her former boss, holding up the gold cowgirl boots fixed onto a necklace chain.

"I will remember you, _always_, Amy. Never have I met anyone as thoughtful to others, either two legged or four legged. And thank you for your help with my Prince. It is possible that I can save him from himself after all, thanks to you."

"You must not give up, Kenza. I know you can make it all work out." The two friends hugged for a long while, trying to put a period at the end of a long story which affected both of them in so many ways.

On the way to the door she ran into Ahmed who was arriving to pick up Kenza and then head to the airport for their flight home to the UAE. "Amy! I am so glad I have gotten to see you before you leave. I want to give you this. It is a token of my appreciation for the hard work you did and for doing a wonderful job with my team, and with me. Take care of yourself, Amy Fleming, and perhaps one day we will once again have the opportunity to work together."

"Thank you, Ahmed, I also want to thank you for allowing me to work with your team I will never forget this experience."

There was a friendly embrace, and then they parted to head off to their separate destinations.

Amy rode in the limo and opened the envelope from Ahmed to find a check for fifty-thousand dollars and a thank you photograph of the entire team which was signed by every one of them. She was on her way to the hotel where her family was waiting to leave for a few days of relaxation at Lisa's villa. The driver opened her door for her to exit the car and she saw Lisa and her grandfather waiting beside the cart full of luggage.

She couldn't help but notice the strained look on her grandpa Jacks face and asked him, "Are you alright? Where's Ty?" Lisa busied herself with directing the bellhop to get all the suitcases loaded in the car. Oddly, all Jack could do was look dreadfully serious and say," Ty is up in your room, waiting for you. You had best get on up there. And, Amy….never mind. We will be right here waiting when you are ready."

Although uncertain of what was waiting for her in the room, there was a tightening in the pit of her stomach and it threatened to make her sick. She reached the door and slowly opened it to find Ty sitting on the edge of the bed with his elbows resting on his knees. When he saw her, he stood and took the five steps to close the distance between them and without saying a word he took her firmly in his arms and squeezed her into his chest, tighter than usual.

"Ty, what is going on? What is the matter?"

She could feel his heaving chest, knowing he was trying to maintain some measure of control, and after the third deep breath he said, "Amy, you need to know more than anything else….that I love you. Being with you always made me feel like I mattered, and everything would be alright. Everything I have become is because of you and your family, and I will never forget what you all have done for me…..But….I can't do this anymore. I thought I could somehow wait for this trip to finish, and I have to admit that I was hoping the new would wear off, that the excitement would fade, and you would want to come back home to stay. Well, I see that is not the case, so….I can't hold on tight enough to keep you from changing, and I can see all of the good things happening to you right now and how happy all of this has made you. I can't make it like this, Amy, wondering where you are and who you are with. It isn't like the old days when I could see who was giving me trouble and just fight for you. Now I am helpless, sitting at home alone and waiting for whatever is going to happen, to happen. It is the worst feeling I have ever had. You have to realize something, Amy, that if you continue travelling for months at a time, like it sounds like you are going to do, then you are asking me to say at home and live most of my life alone, sharing you with people I don't even know, and I certainly can't offer you what they can. How are we supposed to think about any ranch of our own, or starting our business together, or kids, or anything else we have talked about? In other words, where did all of those dreams go, because it sounds to me like they all got thrown to the wind?"

"Ty, you can't mean this! You're quitting, just like that?" was all she could manage to say.

"I realized I was in serious trouble when you left me that day back in Alberta, with Ahmed, and that you were looking for something you didn't see in me."

Amy felt her knees starting to buckle and Ty sensed it, turning her around to sit her in one of the chairs.

"I am not blaming you, Amy, for any of this. I guess it is _my_ weakness that is at fault here. I actually went to one of the doctors at UC and tried to find a way to fix my insecurities, but he said that after spending my entire childhood so desperately trying to hang on to the people who were suppose to love me, and being rejected so traumatically, that it could take many years, if it is even possible, for me to ever be able to recover from the fear that everything I care about will always be taken away from me."

"In fact," Ty said, "I would have to say that you are following the path you were destined to follow. I just got in the way."

"Ty, you can't believe what you are saying!" Amy cried with her broken voice.

"Amy, I have had months to try and find another way to deal with this, but I _can't find_ another way. Now that I understand and accept what it takes to make you happy, I am going back home, to Calgary, and try to put myself back together and make the best of my life that I can. So, now all there is left to do is for you to go out and find whatever it is that you have been looking for, and I honestly hope that you find it soon. I won't be in your way anymore."

Ty stood and placed his hand on the back of Amy's head to gently stroke her hair and kiss her there one last time. "Stay here, Amy, I don't want you to be alone right now so I will send Jack up to help you." He slowly turned and used every bit of strength he could muster to take the necessary steps out of the room.

Amy watched his likeness turn into a blur through eyes filled with shock and disbelief. It only took five seconds and he was through the door and out of her view, and out of her life.

Jack waited in the hall for Ty to nod as he went by, and then walked toward the room through the open door to find his granddaughter sitting there lost in her thoughts and crying. "He's gone, Grandpa, _he's gone_!"

FOUR MONTHS

THE END

* * *

Now that I have most of you wanting my head on a stick right now, I might explain that I woke up this morning at three am and had the idea for a sequel to this story spinning around in my head which wouldn't go away, and is why I changed my mind to finish FOUR MONTHS like I did. Since I am not bound to sponsors and trying to please a million fans every Sunday evening, I can have a little more freedom to tell the story like I think it needs to be told. Trust me when I say that I am as big a sap for a romantic story with a happy ending as any of you Ty and Amy fans, but I wanted something different this time, to see the two of them actually have to face up to things in the way of a lasting relationship and find a way to deal with them. If you are interested in the sequel to this story, and maybe a fix worth waiting for, let me hear about it and I will see what I can do to make it up to you.

Thanks to everyone who read my first ever story and wrote to tell me what you thought. This has turned into so much more than I expected. I may have found a new hobby!

Steve


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